REESE    LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA. 

Accessions  Mo.Z-fyy  Shelf  No. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


ESSAYS  AND  REVIEWS, 


BY  ALBERT    BARNES. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES,— VOL  I. 


NEW   YORK: 
IVISON    &    PHINNEY. 

CHICAGO:   S.  C.  GRIGGS  &  CO BUFFALO:  PHINNEY  &  CO. 

LONDON:    LOW,  SON  &  CO. 

1855. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 
ALBERT   BARNES, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Coxirt  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPED  BT  L.  JOHNSON  AND  CO. 
PHILADELPHIA. 


PREFACE. 


THE  Essays  and  Reviews  in  this  volume  are  pub 
lished  in  this  form  at  the  suggestion  of  others.  They 
have  been  revised  and  corrected  with  such  care  as  I 
could  bestow  upon  them  by  having  them  read  to  me. 
Most  of  them  were  received  favourably  at  the  time 
when  they  were  first  published;  and  now,  after  the 
lapse  of  many  years  since  they  were  first  presented 
to  the  public,  they  have  accomplished  a  purpose  which 
was  never  contemplated  at  the  time  when  they  were 
written — by  furnishing  occupation  when  unable,  by  an 
afflictive  dispensation  of  Providence,  to  read  or  write. 
I  would  hope,  however,  that  they  may  subserve  a 
higher  end  than  this,  and  that  they  may  do  something 
to  diffuse  and  perpetuate  correct  sentiments  on  the 
various  points  which  are  discussed. 

Such  as  they  are,  they  are  now  submitted  to  the 
public.  Few  men  have  greater  occasion  for  gratitude 
for  the  manner  in  which  their  writings  have  been  re 
ceived,  than  I  have  had ;  and  it  is  not  improper,  in  this 


4  PEEFACE. 

manner,  to  record  the  deep  sense  of  the  obligation 
which  I  feel.  At  a  time  of  life,  and  in  circumstances  in 
which  I  can  now  hope  to  do  little  in  what  has  occupied 
so  many  hours  of  my  life,  and  filled  up  the  interstices 
of  professional  pursuits,  I  may  be  permitted  to  hope, 
that  these  Essays,  most  of  them  the  productions  of 
earlier  years,  may  be  made  useful,  especially  to  those 
who  are  to  occupy  the  places  of  men  who  are  soon 

to  pass  away. 

ALBERT  BARNES. 

Philadelphia,  Dec.  14,  1854. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1830.] 

PAGR 

THE  ANALOGY  OF  RELIGION,  NATURAL  AND  REVEALED,  TO  THE 
CONSTITUTION  AND  COURSE  OP  NATURE.  By  JOSEPH  BUTLER, 
LL.D...  7 


II. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1832.] 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY,  WITH  AN  INQUIRY  INTO  THE  CAUSE 
OF  ITS  INEFFICIENCY.  By  the  Rev.  CHARLES  BRIDGES,  B.A., 
Vicar  of  Old  Newton,  Suffolk,  and  Author  of  "Exposition  of 
Psalm  cxix."  New  York:  Jonathan  Leavitt.  Boston:  Crocker 
and  Brewster,  1831.  In  two  vols.  12mo 90 


III. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1832.] 

THE  WORKS  OF  LORD  BACON.     Fourvok.fol.     London:  1730...  123 

IV. 

[CHRISTIAJf  SPECTATOR,  1833.] 

How  CAN  THE  SINNER  BE  MADE  TO  FEEL  ins  GUILT.    A  Discourse 
prepared  at  the  request  of  the  "Revival  Association,"  Andover....   165 

1*  5 


6  CONTENTS. 

V. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1834.] 

PAGE 

EPISCOPACY  TESTED  BY  SCRIPTURE.  By  the  Right  Reverend  HENRY 
U.  OXDERDONK,  D.D.,  Assistant  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episco 
pal  Church,  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  New  York : 
published  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Tract  Society,  pp.  46 200 


VI. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1835.] 

SCRIPTURAL  ARGUMENT  ON  THE  EPISCOPAL  CONTROVERSY.  An 
swer  to  a  Review  (in  the  Quarterly  Christian  Spectator]  of  "Epis 
copacy  tested  by  Scripture,"  first  published  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopalian,  for  May,  1834.  Philadelphia:  Jespcr  Harding  ; 
1834.  pp.  19 252 


VII. 

[NEW  ENGLANDER,  1844.] 

THE  POSITION  OF  THE  EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH ..  317 


ESSAYS  AND  REVIEWS. 


i. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1830.] 

The  Analogy  of  Religion,  Natural  and  Revealed,  to  the 
Constitution  and  Course  of  Nature.  By  JOSEPH  BUTLER, 
LL.D. 

IN  directing  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  great  work 
whose  title  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of  this  article,  we  sup 
pose  that  we  are  rendering  an  acceptable  service  chiefly  to  one 
class.  The  ministers  of  religion,  we  presume,  need  not  our 
humble  recommendation  of  a  treatise  so  well  known  as  Butler's 
Analogy.  It  will  not  b*e  improper,  however,  to  suggest  that 
even  our  clerical  readers  may  be  less  familiar  than  they  should 
be  with  a  work  which  saps  all  foundations  of  unbelief;  and 
may,  perhaps,  have  less  faithfully  carried  out  the  principles 
of  the  Analogy,  and  interwoven  them  less  into  their  theo 
logical  system,  than  might  reasonably  have  been  expected. 
Butler  already  begins  to  put  on  the  venerable  air  of  antiquity. 
He  belongs,  in  the  character  of  his  writings  at  least,  to  the 
men  of  another  age.  He  is  abstruse,  profound,  dry,  and,  to 
minds  indisposed  to  thought,  is  often  wearisome  and  disgust 
ing.  Even  in  clerical  estimation,  then,  his  work  may  some 
times  be  numbered  among  those  repulsive  monuments  of 


8  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

ancient  wisdom  which  men  of  this  age  pass  by  indiscrimi 
nately,  as  belonging  to  times  of  barbarous  strength  and 
unpolished  warfare. 

But  our  design  in  bringing  Butler  more  distinctly  before 
the  public  eye  has  respect  primarily  to  another  class  of  our 
readers.  In  an  age  pre-eminently  distinguished  for  the  short 
lived  productions  of  the  imagination;  when  reviewers  feel 
themselves  bound  to  serve  up  to  the  public  taste,  rather  the 
desserts  and  confectionaries  of  the  literary  world,  than  the 
sound  and  wholesome  fare  of  other  times;  when,  in  many 
places,  it  is  even  deemed  stupid  and  old-fashioned  to  notice  an 
ancient  book,  or  to  speak  of  the  wisdom  of  our  fathers,  we  desire 
to  do  what  may  lie  in  our  power  to  stay  the  headlong  propen 
sities  of  the  times,  and  recall  the  public  mind  to  the  records 
of  past  wisdom.  We  have  no  blind  predilection  for  the  prin 
ciples  of  other  days.  We  bow  down  before  no  opinion  because 
it  is  ancient.  We  even  feel  and  believe,  that  in  all  the  mo 
mentous  questions  pertaining  to  morals,  politics,  science,  and 
religion,  we  are  greatly  in  advance  of  past  ages;  and  our 
hearts  expand  with  joy  at  the  prospect  of  still  greater  simpli 
city  and  clearness  in  the  statement  and  defence  of  the  cardinal 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation.  Most  of  the  monuments  of  past 
wisdom  we  believe  capable  of  improvement  in  these  respects. 
Thus  we  regard  the  works  of  Luther,  Calvin,  Beza,  and  Owen. 
We  look  on  them  as  vast  repositories  of  learning,  piety  and 
genius.  In  the  great  doctrines  which  these  works  were  in 
tended  to  support  we  do  firmly  believe.  Still,  though  we 
love  to  linger  in  the  society  of  such  men,  and  though  our 
humble  intellect  bows  before  them,  as  in  the  presence  of  trans 
cendent  genius,  yet  we  feel  that  in  some  things  their  views 
were  darkened  by  the  habits  of  thinking  of  a  less  cultivated 
age  than  this;  that  their  philosophy  was  often  wrong,  while 
the  doctrines  which  they  attempted  to  defend  by  it  were  cor 
rect  ;  and  that  even  they  would  have  hailed,  on  many  topics, 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  9 

the  increased  illumination  of  later  times.  Had  modern  ways 
of  thinking  been  applied  to  their  works,  had  the  results  of  a 
deeper  investigation  into  the  laws  of  the  mind  and  the  princi 
ples  of  biblical  criticism,  been  in  their  possession,  their  works 
would  have  been  the  most  perfect  records  of  human  wisdom 
which  the  world  contains. 

Some  of  those  great  monuments  of  the  power  of  human 
thought,  however,  stand  complete.  By  a  mighty  effort  of 
genius,  their  authors  seized  on  truth ;  they  fixed  it  in  perma 
nent  forms ;  they  chained  down  scattered  reasonings,  and  left 
them  to  be  surveyed  by  men  of  less  mental  stature  and  far 
feebler  powers.  It  is  a  proof  of  no  mean  talent  now  to  be 
able  to  follow  where  they  lead;  to  grasp  in  thought  what 
they  had  the  power  to  originate.  They  framed  a  complete 
system  at  the  first  touch;  and  all  that  remains  for  coming 
ages  corresponds  to  what  Johnson  has  said  of  poets  in  respect 
to  Homer,  to  "transpose  their  arguments,  new-name  their  rea 
sonings,  and  paraphrase  their  sentiments/'5*  The  works  of 
such  men  are  a  collection  of  principles,  to  be  carried  into  every 
region  of  morals  and  theology,  as  a  standard  of  all  other  views 
of  truth.  Such  a  distinction  we  are  disposed  to  give  to 
Butler's  Analogy;  and  it  is  because  we  deem  it  worthy  of 
such  a  distinction,  that  we  now  single  it  out  from  the  great 
works  of  the  past,  and  commend  it  to  the  attention  of  our 
readers. 

There  are  two  great  departments  of  investigation  respect 
ing  the  u  analogy  of  religion  to  the  constitution  and  course  of 
nature/'  The  one  contemplates  that  analogy  as  existing 
between  the  declarations  of  the  Bible  and  ascertained  facts  in 
the  structure  of  the  globe,  the  organization  of  the  animal 
system,  the  memorials  of  ancient  history,  the  laws  of  light, 
heat,  and  gravitation,  the  dimensions  of  the  earth,  and  the 

*  Johnson.     Preface  to  Shakspeare. 


10  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

form  and  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  From  all  these 
sources,  objections  have  been  derived  against  revelation.  The 
most  furious  attacks  have  been  made,  at  one  time  by  the 
geologist,  at  another  by  the  astronomer — on  one  pretense  by 
the  antiquarian,  and  on  another  by  the  chemist,  against  some 
part  of  the  system  of  revealed  truth.  Yet  never  have  any 
assaults  been  less  successful.  Every  effort  of  this  kind  has 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  this  great  truth,  that  no  man 
has  yet  commenced  an  investigation  of  the  works  of  nature,  for 
the  purpose  of  assailing  revelation,  who  did  not  ultimately 
exhibit  important  facts  in  its  confirmation,  just  in  proportion 
to  his  eminence  and  success  in  his  own  department  of  inquiry. 
We  are  never  alarmed,  therefore,  when  we  see  an  infidel  phi 
losopher  of  real  talents,  commence  an  investigation  into  the 
works  of  nature.  We  hail  his  labours  as  destined  ultimately 
to  be  auxiliary  to  the  cause  of  truth.  We  have  learned  that 
here  Christianity  has  nothing  to  fear ;  and  men  of  science,  we 
believe,  are  beginning  to  understand  that  here  infidelity  has 
nothing  to  hope.  As  a  specimen  of  the  support  which  Christi 
anity  receives  from  the  researches  of  science,  we  refer  our 
readers  to  Ray's  Wisdom  of  God,  to  Paley's  Natural  Theology, 
and  to  Dick's  Christian  Philosopher. 

The  other  department  of  investigation  to  which  we  referred 
is  that  which  relates  to  the  analogy  of  revealed  truth  to  the 
actual  facts  exhibited  in  the  moral  government  of  the  world. 
This  is  the  department  which  Butler  has  entered,  and  which 
he  has  so  successfully  explored.  It  is  obvious  that  the  first  is 
a  wider  field,  in  regard  to  the  number  of  facts  which  bear  on 
the  analogy  :  the  latter  is  more  profound  and  less  tangible,  in 
relation  to  the  great  subject  of  theological  debate.  The  first 
meets  more  directly  the  open  and  plausible  objections  of  the 
blasphemer;  the  latter  represses  the  secret  infidelity  of  the 
human  heart,  and  .silences  more  effectually  the  ten  thousand 
clamours  which  are  accustomed  to  be  raised  against  the  peculiar 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  11 

doctrines  of  the  Bible.  The  first  is  open  to  successive  advances, 
and  will  be  so,  till  the  whole  physical  structure  of  the  world  is 
fully  investigated  and  known.  The  latter,  we  may  almost  infer, 
seems  destined  to  rest  where  it  now  is,  and  to  stand  before  the 
world  as  complete  as  it  ever  will  be,  by  one  prodigious  effort 
of  a  gigantic  mind.  Each  successive  chemist,  antiquary,  astro 
nomer,  and  anatomist  will  throw  light  on  some  great  depart 
ment  of  human  knowledge,  to  be  moulded  to  the  purposes 
of  religion  by  some  future  Paley,  or  Dick,  or  Good ;  and  in 
every  distinguished  man  of  science,  whatever  may  be  his  reli 
gious  feelings,  we  hail  an  ultimate  auxiliary  to  the  cause 
of  truth.  Butler,  however,  seems  to  stand  alone.  No  adven 
turous  mind  has  attempted  to  press  his  great  principles  of 
thought  still  further  into  the  regions  of  moral  inquiry. 
Though  the  subject  of  moral  government  is  better  understood 
now  than  it  was  in  its  day ;  though  light  has  been  thrown  on 
the  doctrines  of  theology,  and  a  perceptible  advance  been  made 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  mind,  yet  whoever  now 
wishes  to  know  "  the  analogy  of  religion  to  the  constitution 
and  course  of  nature,"  has  nowhere  else  to  go  but  to  Butler; 
or  if  he  is  able  to  apply  the  principles  of  Butler,  he  has 
only  to  incorporate  them  with  his  own  reasonings,  to  furnish 
the  solution  of  those  facts  and  difficulties  that  "  perplex  mor 
tals."  We  do  not  mean  by  this,  that  Butler  has  exhausted 
the  subject.  We  mean  only  that  no  man  has  attempted  to 
carry  it  beyond  the  point  where  he  left  it;  and  that  his  work, 
though  not  in  our  view  as  complete  as  modern  habits  of 
thought  would  permit  it  to  be,  yet  stands  like  one  of  those 
vast  piles  of  architecture  commenced  in  the  Middle  Ages — 
proofs  of  consummate  skill,  of  vast  power,  of  amazing  wealth, 
yet  in  some  respects  incomplete  or  disproportioned,  but  which 
no  one  since  has  dared  to  remodel,  and  which  no  one,  per 
haps,  has  had  either  the  wealth,  the  power,  or  the  genius 
requisite  to  make  more  complete. 


12  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

Of  Butler,  as  a  man,  little  is  known.  This  is  one  of  the 
many  cases,  where  we  are  compelled  to  lament  the  want  of  a 
full  and  faithful  biography.  With  the  leading  facts  of  his 
life,  as  a  parish  priest  and  a  prelate,  we  are  indeed  made  ac 
quainted.  But  here  our  knowledge  of  him  ends.  Of  Butler 
as  a  man  of  piety,  of  the  secret,  practical  operations  of  his 
mind,  we  know  little.  Now  it  is  obvious  that  we  could  be  in 
possession  of  no  legacy  more  valuable,  in  regard  to  such  a 
man,  than  the  knowledge  of  the  secret  feelings  of  his  heart ; 
of  the  application  of  his  own  modes  of  thinking  to  his  own 
soul,  to  subdue  the  ever-varying  forms  of  human  weakness 
and  guilt ;  and  of  his  practical  way  of  obviating,  for  his  per 
sonal  comfort,  the  suggestions  of  unbelief  in  his  own  bosom. 
This  fact  we  know,  that  he  was  engaged  upon  his  Analogy 
during  a  period  of  twenty  years.  Yet  we  know  nothing  of  the 
effect  on  his  own  soul;  of  the  mode  in  which  he  blunted  and 
warded  off  the  poisoned  shafts  of  infidelity.  Could  we  see  the 
internal  organization  of  his  mind,  as  we  can  now  see  that 
of  Johnson;  could  .we  trace  the  connection  between  his 
habits  of  thought  and  his  pious  emotions,  it  would  be  a  trea 
sure  to  the  world  equalled  perhaps  only  by  his  Analogy,  and 
one  which  we  may  in  vain  hope  now  to  possess.  The  true 
purposes  of  biography  have  been  hitherto  but  little  under 
stood.  The  mere  external  events  pertaining  to  great  men  are 
often  of  little  value.  They  are  without  the  mind,  and  produce 
feelings  unconnected  with  any  important  purposes  of  human 
improvement.  Who  reads  now  with  any  emotion,  except 
regret,  that  this  is  all  he  can  read  of  such  a  man  as  Butler — 
that  he  was  born  in  1692,  graduated  at  Oxford  in  1721, 
preached  at  the  Rolls  till  1726,  was  made  Bishop  of  Durham 
in  1750,  and  died  in  1752.  We  learn,  indeed,  that  he  was 
high  in  favour  at  the  university,  and  subsequently  at  court; 
that  he  was  retiring,  modest  and  unassuming  in  his  deport 
ment;  and  that  his  elevation  to  the  Deanery  of  St.  Paul's,  and 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  13 

to  the  princely  See  of  Durham,  was  not  the  effect  of  ambition, 
but  the  voluntary  tribute  of  those  in  power  to  transcendent 
talent  and  exalted  though  retiring  worth.  An  instance  of 
his  modest  and  unambitious  habits,  given  in  the  record  of  his 
life,  is  worthy  of  preservation,  and  is  highly  illustrative  of  his 
character.  For  seven  years  he  was  occupied  in  the  humble 
and  laborious  duties  of  a  parish  priest,  at  Stanhope.  His 
friends  regretted  his  retirement,  and  sought  preferment  for 
him.  Mr.  Seeker,  an  intimate  friend  of  Butler,  being  made 
chaplain  to  the  king  in  1732,  one  day,  in  conversation  with 
Queen  Caroline,  took  occasion  to  mention  his  friend's  name. 
The  queen  said  she  thought  he  was  dead,  and  asked  Arch 
bishop  Blackburn  if  that  was  not  the  case.  His  reply  was, 
'"  Xo,  madam,  but  he  is  buried/'  He  was  thus  raised  again 
to  notice,  and  ultimately  to  high  honours  in  the  hierarchy  of 
the  English-  church. 

Butler  was  naturally  of  a  contemplative  and  somewhat  me 
lancholy  turn  of  mind.  He  sought  retirement,  therefore,  and 
yet  needed  society.  It  is  probable  that  natural  inclination,  as 
well  as  the  prevalent  habits  of  unbelief  in  England,  suggested 
the  plan  of  his  Analogy.  Yet,  though  retiring  and  unambi 
tious,  lie  was  lauded  in  the  days  of  his  advancement,  as  sus 
taining  the  episcopal  office  with  great  dignity  and  splendour  • 
as  conducting  the  ceremonies  of  religion  with  a  pomp  ap 
proaching  the  grandeur  of  the  Roman  Catholic  form  of  wor 
ship  ]  and  as  treating  the  neighbouring  clergy  and  nobility 
with  the  "  pride,  pomp,  and  circumstance/'  becoming,  in 
their  view,  a  minister  of  Jesus  transformed  into  a  nobleman 
of  secular  rank,  and  reckoned  among  the  great  officers  of  state. 
These  are,  in  our  view,  spots  in  the  life  of  Butler  •  and  all 
attempts  to  conceal  them  have  only  rendered  them  more 
glaring.  Xo  authority  of  antiquity,  no  plea  of  the  grandeur 
of  imposing  rites,  can  justify  the  pomp  and  circumstance 
appropriate  to  an  English  prelatical  bishop,  or  invest  with 


14  REVIEWS   AND    ESSAYS. 

sacred  authority  the  canons  of  a  church  that  elevates  the 
humble  ministers  of  Him  who  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head, 
to  the  splendours  of  a  palace  or  the  pretended  honours  of  an 
archiepiscopal  throne — to  a  necessary  alliance,  under  every 
danger  to  personal  and  ministerial  character,  with  profligate 
noblemen  or  intriguing  and  imperious  ministers.  But  Butler 
drew  his  title  to  memory,  in  subsequent  ages,  neither  from  the 
tinsel  of  rank,  the  staff  and  lawn  of  office,  nor  the  attendant 
pomp  and  grandeur  arising  from  the  possession  of  one  of  the 
richest  benefices  in  England.  Butler  the  prelate  will  be  for 
gotten  :  Butler  the  author  of  the  Analogy  will  live  to  the 
last  recorded  time. 

In  the  few  remains  of  the  Life  of  Butler,  we  lament, 
still  more  than  any  thing  we  have  mentioned,  that  we  learn 
nothing  of  his  habits  of  study,  his  mode  of  investigation,  and, 
especially,  the  process  by  which  he  composed  his  Analogy. 
We  are  told,  indeed,  that  it  combines  the  results  of  his 
thoughts  for  twenty  years,  and  his  observations  and  reading 
during  that  long  period  of  his  life.  lie  is  said  to  have 
written  and  re-written  different  parts  of  it,  to  have  studied 
each  word  and  phrase,  until  it  expressed  precisely  his  moan 
ing,  and  no  more.  It  bears  plenary  evidence  that  it  must 
have  been  written  by  such  a  condensing  and  epitomizing  pro 
cess.  Any  man  may  be  satisfied  of  this  who  attempts  to 
express  the  thoughts  in  other  language  than  that  employed  in 
the  Analogy.  Instinctively  the  sentences  and  paragraphs  will 
swell  out  to  a  much  greater  size,  and  defy  all  the  powers  we 
possess  to  reduce  them  to  their  primitive  dimensions,  unless 
they  be  driven  within  the  precise  enclosures  prescribed  by  the 
mind  of  Butler.  We  regret  in  vain  that  this  is  all  our  know 
ledge  of  the  mechanical  and  mental  process  by  which  this 
book  was  composed.  We  are  not  permitted  to  see  him  at  his 
toil,  to  mark  the  workings  of  his  mind,  and  to  learn  the  art 
of  looking  intensely  at  a  thought  until  we  see  it  standing 


BUTLEll  S    ANALOGY.  l-> 

alone,  aloof  from  all  attendants,  and  prepared  for  a  permanent 
location  where  the  author  intended  to  fix  its  abode,  to  be  con 
templated,  as  he  viewed  it,  in  all  coming  ages.  AVo  can 
hardly  repress  our  indignation  that  those  who  undertake  to 
write  the  biography  of  such  gifted  men,  should  not  tell  us 
less  of  their  bodies,  their  trappings,  their  honours,  and 
their  offices,  and  more  of  the  workings  of  the  spirit,  the 
process  of  subjecting  and  restraining  the  native  wanderings 
of  the  mind.  Nor  can  we  suppress  the  sigh  of  regret  that 
he  has  not  himself  revealed  to  us  what  no  other  man  could 
have  done,  and  admitted  subsequent  admirers  to  the  inti 
macy  of  friendship,  and  to  a  contemplation  of  the  process 
by  which  the  Analogy  was  conceived  and  executed.  Over 
the  past,  however,  it  is  in  vain  to  sigh.  Every  man  feels 
that  hitherto  we  have  had  but  little  biography.  Sketches 
of  the  external  circumstances  of  many  men  we  have — gene 
alogical  tables  without  number  and  without  end — chronicled 
wonders,  that  such  a  man  was  born  and  died,  ran  through 
such  a  circle  of  honours,  and  obtained  such  a  mausoleum  to 
perpetuate  his  memory.  But  histories  of  mind  we  have  not; 
and,  for  all  the  great  purposes  of  knowledge,  we  should  know 
as  much  of  the  man,  if  we  had  not  looked  upon  the  misnamed 
biography. 

We  now  take  leave  of  Butler  as  a  man,  and  direct  our 
thoughts  more  particularly  to  his  great  work. 

Those  were  dark  and  portentous  times  which  succeeded  the 
reign  of  the  Second  Charles.  That  voluptuous  and  witty 
monarch  had  contributed  more  than  any  mortal,  before  or 
since  his  time,  to  fill  a  nation  with  infidels  and  debauchees. 
Corruption  had  seized  upon  the  highest  orders  of  the  state, 
and  it  flowed  down  on  all  ranks  of  the  community.  Every 
grade  in  life  had  caught  the  infection  of  the  court.  Profligacy 
is  alternately  the  parent  and  the  child  of  unbelief.  The  un 
thinking  multitude  of  courtiers  and  flatterers  that  fluttered 


16  REVIEWS   AND    ESSAYS. 

around  the  court  of  Charles,  had  learned  to  scoff  at  Christian 
ity,  and  to  consider  it  as  not  worth  the  trouble  of  anxious 
thought.  The  influence  of  the  court  extended  over  the  nation. 
It  soon  infected  the  schools  and  professions;  and  perhaps 
there  has  not  been  a  time  in  British  history  when  infidelity 
had  become  so  general,  and  had  assumed  a  form  so  malignant. 
It  had  attached  itself  to  dissoluteness,  deep,  dreadful,  and 
universal.  It  was  going  hand  in  hand  with  all  the  pleasures 
of  a  profligate  court ;  it  was  identified  with  all  that  actuated 
the  souls  of  Charles  and  his  ministers;  it  was  the  kind  of 
infidelity  which  fitted  an  unthinking  age — scorning  alike 
reason,  philosophy,  patient  thought,  and  purity  of  morals. 
In  the  language  of  Butler,  "it  had  come  to  be  taken  for 
granted,  by  many  persons,  that  Christianity  is  not  so  much  as 
a  subject  of  inquiry,  but  that  it  is  now,  at  length,  discovered 
to  be  fictitious  ;  and,  accordingly,  they  treat  it  as  if,  in  the 
present  age,  this  were  an  agreed  point  among  all  people  of 
discernment,  and  nothing  remained  but  to  set  it  up  as  a  prin 
cipal  subject  of  mirth  and  ridicule,  as  it  were,  by  way  of 
reprisals  for  its  having  so  long  interrupted  the  pleasures 
of  the  world."  In  times  of  such  universal  profligacy  and 
infidelity  arose,  in  succession,  Locke,  Newton,  and  Butler; 
the  two  former  of  whom,  we  need  not  say,  have  been  unsur 
passed  in  great  powers  of  thought  and  in  the  influence  which 
they  exerted  on  the  sentiments  of  mankind.  It  needed  such 
men  to  bring  back  a  volatile  generation  to  habits  of  profound 
thought  in  the  sciences.  It  needed  such  a  man  as  Butler,  in 
our  view  not  inferior  in  profound  thought  to  either,  and 
whose  works  will  have  a  more  permanent  effect  on  the  desti 
nies  of  men  than  both,  to  arrest  the  giddy  steps  of  a  nation ; 
to  bring  religion  from  the  palace  of  a  scoffing  prince  and 
court  to  the  bar  of  sober  thought,  and  to  show  that  Christian 
ity  was  not  undeserving  of  sober  inquiry.  This  was  the 
design  of  the  Analogy.  It  was  not  so  much  to  furnish  a 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  17 

complete  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  religion,  as  to  show 
that  it  could  not  be  proved  to  be  false.  It  was  to  show  that 
it  accorded  with  a  great  system  of  things  actually  going  on  in 
the  world,  and  that  attacks  made  on  Christianity  were,  to  the 
same  extent,  assaults  on  the  course  of  nature  and  of  nature's 
God.  Butler  pointed  the  unbeliever  to  a  grand  system  of 
things  in  actual  existence,  a  world  with  every  variety  of  cha 
racter,  feeling,  conduct,  and  results — a  system  of  things 
deeply  mysterious,  yet  developing  great  principles,  and  bear 
ing  proof  that  it  was  under  the  government  of  God.  He 
traced  certain  indubitable  acts  of  the  Almighty  in  a  course 
of  nature,  whose  existence  could  not  be  denied.  Now,  if  it 
could  be  shown  that  Christianity  contained  like  results,  acts, 
and  principles ;  if  it  was  a  scheme  involving  no  greater  mys- 
•tery,  and  demanding  a  correspondent  conduct  on  the  part 
of  man,  it  would  be  seen  that  it  had  proceeded  from  the 
same  author.  In  other  words,  the  objections  alleged  against 
Christianity,  being  equally  applicable  against  the  course  of 
nature,  could  not  be  valid.  To  show  this  was  the  design 
of  Butler.  In  doing  this  he  carried  the  war  into  the  camp 
of  the  enemy.  He  silenced  the  objector's  arguments;  or, 
if  the  objector  still  continued  to  urge  them,  he  showed  him 
that,  with  equal  propriety,  they  could  be  urged  against  the 
acknowledged  course  of  things ;  against  his  own  principles  of 
conduct  on  other  subjects;  against  what  indubitably  affected 
his  condition  here,  and  what  might,  therefore,  affect  his  doom 
hereafter. 

We  are  fond  of  thus  looking  at  the  Bible  as  part  of  one 
vast  plan  of  communicating  truth  to  created  intelligences. 
We  know  it  is  the  fullest  and  most  grand  of  all  God's  ways 
of  teaching  men,  standing  amidst  the  sources  of  information, 
as  the  sun  does  amid  the  stars  of  heaven,  quenching  their 
feeble  glimmerings  in  the  fulness  of  its  meridian  splendour. 
But,  to  carry  forward  the  illustration,  the  sun  does,  indeed, 

2* 


18  REVIEWS   AND    ESSAYS. 

cause  the  stars  of  night  to  "  hide  their  diminished  heads ;" 
but  we  see  in  both  but  one  system  of  laws ;  and  whether  in 
the  trembling  of  the  minutest  orb  that  emits  its  faint  rays 
to  us  from  the  farthest  bounds  of  space,  or  the  full  light  of 
the  sun  at  noon-day,  we  trace  the  hand  of  the  same  God,  and 
feel  that  "  all  are  but  parts  of  one  stupendous  whole/7  Thus 
it  is  with  revelation.  "We  know  that  its  truths  comprise  all 
that  the  world  elsewhere  contains ;  that  its  authority  is  su 
preme  over  all  the  other  sources  of  knowledge,  and  all  the 
other  facts  of  the  moral  system.  But  there  are  other  sources 
of  information — a  vast  multitude  of  facts  that  we  expect  to 
find  in  accordance  with  this  brighter  effulgence  from  heaven ; 
and  it  is  these  facts  which  the  Analogy  brings  to  the  aid  of 
revelation.  The  Bible  is  in  religion  what  the  telescope  is  in 
astronomy.  It  does  not  contradict  any  thing  before  known ; 
it  does  not  annihilate  any  thing  before  seen :  it  carries  the  eye 
forward  into  new  worlds,  opens  it  upon  more  splendid  fields 
of  vision,  displays  grander  systems,  where  we  thought  there 
was  but  the  emptiness  of  space  or  the  darkness  of  illimitable 
and  profound  night,  and  divides  the  milky  way  into  vast  clus 
ters  of  suns  and  stars,  of  worlds  and  systems.  In  all  the 
boundlessness  of  these  fields  of  vision,  however,  does  the  teles 
cope  point  us  to  any  new  laws  of  acting,  any  new  principle  by 
which  the  universe  is  governed  ?  The  astronomer  tells  us  not. 
It  is  the  hand  of  the  same  God  which  he  sees,  impelling  the 
new  worlds  that  burst  on  the  view  in  the  immensity  of  space 
with  the  same  irresistible  and  inconceivable  energy,  and  en 
compassing  them  with  the  same  clear  fields  of  light.  So  we 
expect  to  find  it  in  revelation.  We  expect  to  see  plans,  laws, 
purposes,  actions,  and  results,  uniform  with. the  facts  in  actual 
existence  before  our  eyes.  Whether  in  the  smiles  of  an 
infant,  or  the  rapt  feelings  of  a  seraph ;  in  the  strength  of 
manhood,  or  the  power  of  Gabriel ,  in  the  rewards  of  virtue 
here,  or  the  crown  of  glory  hereafter,  we  expect  to  find  the 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  19 

Creator  acting  on  one  grand  principle  of  moral  government, 
applicable  to  all  these  facts,  and  to  be  vindicated  by  the  same 
considerations. 

When  we  approach  the  Bible,  we  are  at  once  struck  with 
a  most  striking  correspondence  of  plan  to  that  which  obtains 
in  the  natural  world.  When  we  teach  theology  in  our 
schools,  we  do  it  by  system,  by  form,  by  technicalities.  We 
frame  what  we  call  a  "  body  of  divinity,"  expecting  all  its 
parts  to  cohere  and  agree.  We  shape  and  clip  the  angles  and 
points  of  our  theology,  till  they  shall  fit,  like  the  polished 
stones  of  the  temple  of  Solomon,  into  their  place.  So,  when 
we  teach  astronomy,  botany,  or  geography,  it  is  by  a  regular 
system  before  us,  having  the  last  discoveries  of  the  science 
located  in  their  proper  place.  But  how  different  is  the  plan 
which,  in  each  of  these  departments,  is  pursued  by  infinite 
wisdom.  The  truths  which  God  designs  to  teach  us  lie  spread 
over  a  vast  compass.  They  are  placed  without  much  apparent 
order.  Those  of  revelation  lie  before  us,  just  as  the  various 
facts  do  which  go  to  make  up  a  system  of  botany  or  astro 
nomy.  The  great  Author  of  nature  has  not  placed  all  flowers 
in  a  single  situation,  nor  given  them  a  scientific  arrangement. 
They  are  scattered  over  the  wide  world.  Part  bloom  on  the 
mountain ;  part  in  the  valley ;  part  shed  their  fragrance  near 
the  running  stream ;  part  pour  their  sweetness  on  the  desert 
air,  "in  the  solitary  waste  where  no  man  is;"  part  climb  in 
vines  to  giddy  heights,  and  part  are  found  in  the  bosom  of  the 
mighty  waters.  He  that  forms  a  theory  of  botany  must  do  it, 
therefore,  with  hardy  toil.  He  will  find  the  materials,  not 
the  system,  made  ready  to  his  hands.  He  will  exhaust  his 
life,  perhaps,  in  his  labour,  before  the  system  stands  complete. 
Why  should  we  not  expect  to  find  the  counterpart  of  all  this  in 
religion  ?  When  we  look  at  the  Bible,  we  find  the  same  state 
of  things.  At  first  but  a  ray  of  light  beamed  upon  the  dark 
path  of  our  apostate  parents,  wandering  from  Paradise.  The 


20  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

sun  that  had  stood  over  their  heads  in  the  garden  of  pleasure, 
at  their  fall  sunk  to  the  west,  and  left  them  in  the  horrors  of 
a  moral  midnight.  A  single  ray,  in  the  promise  of  a  Saviour, 
shot  along  their  path,  and  directed  to  the  source  of  day.  But 
did  G-od  reveal  a  whole  system  ?  Did  he  tell  them  all  the 
truth  that  he  knew  ?  Did  he  tell  all  that  we  know  ?  He  did 
just  as  we  have  supposed  in  regard  to  the  first  botanist.  The 
eye  was  fixed  on  one  truth  distinctly.  Subsequent  revela 
tions  shed  new  light;  advancing  facts  confirmed  preceding 
doctrines  and  promises ;  rising  prophets  gave  confirmation  to 
the  hopes  of  men ;  precepts,  laws,  and  direct  revelations  rose 
upon  the  world,  until  the  system  of  revealed  truth  is  now 
complete.  Man  has  all  he  can  have,  except  the  facts  which 
the  progress  of  things  is  yet  to  develop  in  confirmation  of  the 
system,  just  as  each  new  budding  flower  goes  to  confirm  the 
just  principles  of  the  naturalist,  and  to  show  what  the  system 
is.  Yet  how  do  we  possess  the  system  ?  As  arranged,  di 
gested,  and  reduced  to  order?  Far  from  it.  "We  have  the 
book  of  revelation  just  as  we  have  the  book  of  nature.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  Bible,  for  example,  we  have  a  truth  ab 
stractly  taught ;  in  another  part  it  is  illustrated  in  the.  life  of  a 
prophet ;  as  we  advance  it  is  confirmed  by  the  fuller  revelation 
of  the  Saviour  or  the  apostles,  and  we  find  its  full  development 
only  when  the  whole  book  is  complete.  Here  stands  a  law ; 
there  a  promise  \  there  a  profound  mystery,  unarranged,  undi 
gested,  yet  strikingly  accordant  with  a  multitude  of  corres 
pondent  views  in  the  Bible,  and  with  as  many  in  the  moral 
world.  Now,  here  is  a  mode  of  communication  which  impos 
ture  would  have  carefully  avoided,  because  detection,  it  would 
foresee,  must,  on  such  a  plan,  be  unavoidable.  It  seems  to  us 
that,  if  men  had  intended  to  impose  a  system  on  the  world,  it 
would  have  been  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  our  bodies  of 
divinity,  and,  therefore,  very  greatly  unlike  the  plan  which 
we  actually  find  in  the  Bible.  At  any  rate,  we  approach  the 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  21 

Bible  with  this  strong  presumption  in  favour  of  its  truth,  that 
it  accords  precisely  with  what  we  see  in  astronomy,  'chemistry, 
botany,  and  geography,  and  that  the  mode  of  constructing 
systems  in  all  these  sciences  is  exactly  the  same  as  in  dogma 
tical  theology. 

We  have  another  remark  to  make  on  this  subject.  The 
botanist  does  not  shape  his  facts.  He  is  the  collector,  the 
nrranger,  not  the  originator.  So  the  framer  of  systems  in 
religion  should  be,  and  it  is  matter  of  deep  regret  that  such  he 
has  not  been.  He  should  be  merely  the  collector  and  the 
arranger,  not  the  originator  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel;  and, 
though  we  think  him  of  some  importance,  yet  we  do  not  set  a 
high  value  on  his  labours.  We  honour  the  toils  of  a  man 
who  tells  of  the  uses,  the  beauties,  and  the  medicinal  properties 
of  the  plant, — far  more  than  of  him  who  merely  declares  its 
rank,  its  order,  its  class  in  the  Linnean  system.  So  in  theo 
logy,  we  admire  the  greatness  of  mind  which  can  bring  out  an 
original  truth,  illustrate  it,  and  show  its  proper  bearing  on 
the  spiritual  interests  of  our  race,  far  more  than  we  do  the 
plodding  chiseller  who  shape  sit  to  its  place  in  his  system.  It 
makes  no  small  demand  on  our  patience,  when  we  see  the 
system-maker  remove  angle  after  angle,  and  apply  stroke  after 
stroke  to  some  great  mass  of  truth  which  some  mighty  genius 
has  struck  out,  but  which  keen-eyed  and  jealous  orthodoxy 
will  not  admit  to  its  proper  bearing  on  the  souls  of  men  until 
it  is  located  in  a  creed,  and  cramped  into  some  frame-work 
of  faith  that  has  been  reared  around  the  Bible.  Our  sympa 
thy  with  such  men  as  Butler,  and  Chalmers,  and  Foster,  and 
Hall,  is  far  greater  than  with  Turretine  or  Ridgely.  With 
still  less  patience  do  we  listen  to  those  whose  only  business  it 
is  to  shape  and  reduce  to  prescribed  form;  who  never  look 
at  a  passage  in  the  Bible  or  a  fact  in  nature,  without  first 
robbing  it  pf  its  freshness,  by  an  attempt  to  give  it  a  sectarian 
location ;  who  never  stumble  on  an  original  and  unclassified 


22  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

idea,  without  asking  whether  the  system-maker  had  left  any 
niche  for  the  late-born  intruder;  and  who  apply  to  it  all 
tests,  as  to  a  nondescript  substance  in  chemistry,  in  order  to 
fasten  on  it  the  charge  of  an  affinity  with  some  rejected  con 
fession  or  some  creed  of  a  suspected  name.  This  is  to  abuse 
reason  and  revelation  for  the  sake  of  putting  honour  on 
creeds.  It  is  to  suppose  that  the  older  creed-makers  had 
before  them  all  shades  of  thought,  all  material  and  mental 
facts,  all  knowledge  of  what  mind  Jias  been  and  can  l>e,  and 
all  other  knowledge  of  the  adaptedness  of  the  Bible  to  every 
enlarged  and  fluctuating  process  of  thought.  It  is  to  doom 
the  theologian  to  an  eternal  dwelling  in  Greenland  frost  and 
snows,  instead  of  sending  him.  forth  to  breathe  the  mild  air 
of  freedom,  and  to  make  him  a  large-minded  and  fearless 
interpreter  of  the  oracles  of  God. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  follow  the  profound  author  of  the 
Analogy  through  his  laboured  demonstrations,  or  to  attempt 
to  offer  an  abridged  statement  of  his  reasoning.  Butler,  as 
we  have  already  remarked,  is  incapable  of  abridgment.  His 
thoughts  are  already  condensed  into  as  narrow  a  compass  as  the 
nature  of  language  will  admit.  All  that  we  purpose  to  do  is 
to  give  a  speci'mew  of  the  argument  from  analogy  in  support 
of  the  Christian  religion,  without  very  closely  following  the 
book  before  us. 

The  main  points  at  issue  between  Christianity  and  its  oppo- 
sers  are,  whether  there  is  a  future  state ;  whether  our  conduct 
here  will  affect  our  condition  there ;  whether  God  so  controls 
things  as  to  reward  and  punish ;  whether  it  is  reasonable  to 
act  with  reference  to  our  condition  hereafter;  whether  the 
favour  of  God  is  to  be  obtained  with  or  without  the  mediation 
of  another;  whether  crime  and  suffering  are  indissolubly  united 
in  the  moral  government  of  God;  and  whether  Christianity 
is  a  scheme  in  accordance  with  the  acknowledged  laws  of  the 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  23 

universe,  and  is  supported  by  evidence  so  clear  as  to  make  it 
proper  to  act  on  the  belief  of  its  truth. 

Infidelity,  in  its  proper  form,  approaches  man  with  the 
declaration  that  there  cannot  be  a  future  state.  It  affirms, 
often  with  much  apparent  concern,  that  there  can  be  no  satis 
factory  evidence  of  what  pertains  to  a  dark,  invisible,  and 
distant  world ;  that  the  mind  is  incompetent  to  sot  up  land 
marks  along  its  own  future  course ;  and  that  we  can  have  no 
certain  proof  that  in  that  dark  abyss  we  shall  live,  act,  or 
think  at  all.  It  affirms  that  the  whole  analogy  of  things  is 
against  such  a  supposition.  We  have  no  evidence,  it  declares, 
that  one  of  all  the  millions  who  have  died  has  lived  beyond 
the  grave.  In  sickness  and  old  age,  it  is  said,  the  body  and 
soul  seem  alike  to  grow  feeble  and  decay,  and  both  soon  to 
expire  together.  That  they  ever  exist  separate,  it  is  said,  has 
not  been  proved.  That  such  a  dissolution  and  separate  ex 
istence  should  take  place  is  affirmed  to  be  contrary  to  the 
analogy  of  all  other  things.  That  the  soul  and  body  should 
be  united  again,  and  constitute  a  single  being,  is  said  to  be 
without  a  parallel  fact  in  other  things  to  divest  it  of  its  inhe 
rent  improbability. 

Now  let  us  suppose  for  a  moment,  that,  endued  with  our 
present  powers  of  thought,  we  had  been  united  to  bodies  of 
far  feebler  frame,  and  much  more  slender  dimensions,  than  we 
now  inhabit.  Suppose  that  our  spirits  had  been  doomed  to 
inhabit  the  body  of  a  crawling  reptile,  scarce  an  inch  in 
length,  prone  on  the  earth,  and  doomed  to  draw  out  its  little 
length  to  obtain  locomotion  from  day  to  day,  and  scarce 
noticeable  by  the  mighty  beings  above  it.  Suppose  in  that 
lowly  condition,  as  we  contemplated  the  certainty  of  our 
speedy  dissolution,  we  should  look  upon  our  kindred  reptiles, 
the  partners  of  our  cares,  and  should  see  their  strength  gra 
dually  waste,  their  faculties  grow  dim,  their  bodies  become 
chill  in  death.  Suppose  now  that  it  should  be  revealed  to  us 


24  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

that  those  bodies  would  undergo  a  transformation ;  that  at  no 
great  distance  of  time  they  would  start  up  into  .new  being; 
that  in  their  narrow  graves  there  would  be  seen  the  evidence 
of  returning  life }  and  that  these  same  deformed,  prone,  and 
decaying  frames  would  be  clothed  with  the  beauty  of  gaudy 
colours,  be  instinct  with  life,  leave  the  earth,  soar  at  pleasure 
in  a  new  element,  take  their  rank  in  a  new  order  of  beings, 
be  divested  of  all  that  was  offensive  and  loathsome  in  their 
old  abode  in  the  eyes  of  other  beings,  and  be  completely  dis 
sociated  from  all  the  plans,  habits,  relations,  and  feelings  of 
their  former  lowly  condition.  We  ask  whether  against  this 
supposition  there  would  not  lie  all  the  objections  which  have 
ever  been  alleged  against  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection  and  a 
future  state  ?  Yet  the  world  has  long  been  familiar  with 
changes  of  this  character.  The  changes  which  animal  nature 
undergoes  to  produce  the  gay  colours  of  the  butterfly  have  as 
much  antecedent  improbability  as  those  pertaining  to  the  pre 
dicted  resurrection,  and,  for  aught  that  we  can  see,  are  impro 
babilities  of  precisely  the  same  nature.  So  in  a  case  still 
more  in  point.  No  two  states  which  revelation  has  presented, 
as  actually  contemplated  in  the  condition  of  man,  are  more 
unlike  than  those  of  an  unborn  infant  and  of  a  hoary  man 
ripe  with  wisdom  and  honours.  So  far  as  appears,  the  state 
of  the  embryo,  and  that  of  Newton,  Locke,  and  Bacon,  in 
their  mature  powers,  have,  at  least,  as  much  dissimilarity  as 
those  between  man  here  and  man  in  a  future  state.  Grant 
that  a  revelation  could  be  made  to  such  an  embryo,  and  it 
would  be  attended  with  all  the  difficulties  that  are  supposed 
to  attend  the  doctrine  of  revelation.  That  this  unformed 
being  should  leave  the  element  in  which  it  commences  its 
existence ;  that  it  should  be  ushered  in  another  element  with 
powers  precisely  adjusted  to  its  new  state,  and  useless  in  its 
first  abode — like  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  hand,  the  foot ;  that  it 
should  assume  relations  to  hundreds  and  thousands  of  other 


BUTLER  S   ANALOGY.  2o 

beings  at  first  unknown,  and  these,  too,  living  in  what,  to  the 
embryo,  must  be  esteemed  a  different  world ;  that  it  should  be 
capable  of  traversing  seas,  of  measuring  the  distances  of  stars, 
of  gauging  the  dimensions  of  suns;  that  it  could  calculate 
with  unerring  certainty  the  conjunctions  and  oppositions,  the 
transits  and  altitudes  of  the  vast  wheeling  orbs  of  immensity, 
— is  as  improbable  as  any  change  which  man,  under  the 
guidance  of  revelation,  has  yet  expected  in  his  most  sanguine 
moments.  Yet  nothing  is  more  familiar  to  us.  So  the  ana 
logy  might  be  run  through  all  the  changes  which  animals  and 
vegetables  exhibit;  nor  has  the  infidel  a  right  to  reject  the 
revelations  of  Christianity  respecting  a  future  state,  until  he 
has  disposed  of  facts  of  precisely  the  same  nature  with  which 
our  world  abounds. 

But  are  we  under  a  moral  government  ?  Admitting  the 
probability  of  a  future  state,  is  the  plan  on  which  the  world  is 
actually  administered  one  which  will  be  likely  to  affect  our 
condition  there?  Is  there  any  reason  to  believe,  from  the 
analogy  of  things,  that  the  affairs  of  the  universe  will  ever, 
in  some  future  condition,  settle  down  into  permanency  and 
order?  That  this  is  the  doctrine  of  Christianity  none  can 
deny.  It  is  a  matter  of  clear  revelation;  indeed,  it  is  the 
entire  basis  and  structure  of  the  scheme,  that  the  affairs  of 
justice  and  of  law  are  under  suspense;  that  "judgment  now 
lingereth  and  damnation  slumbereth ;"  that  crime  is,  for  the 
present,  dissociated  from  wo,  for  a  specific  purpose,  viz.  that 
mortals  may  repent  and  be  forgiven;  and  that  there  will  come 
a  day  when  the  native  indissoluble  connection  between  sin  and 
suffering  will  be  restored,  and  that  they  will  then  travel  on 
hand  in  hand  forever.  This  is  the  essence  of  Christianity, 
and  it  is  a  most  interesting  inquiry,  whether  any  thing  like 
this  can  be  found  in  the  actual  government  of  the  world. 

Now  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  on  this  subject,  we  are 
thrown  into  a  most  remarkable,  a  chaotic  mass  of  facts.  The 
VOL.  I.  3 


26  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

world  is  so  full  of  irregularity — the  lives  of  wicked  men  are 
so  often  peaceful  and  triumphant — virtue  so  often  pines  ne 
glected  in  the  vale  of  obscurity,  or  weeps  and  groans  under 
the  iron  hand  of  the  oppressor,  that  it  appals  men  in  all  their 
attempts  to  reduce  the  system  to  order.  Rewards  and  punish 
ments  are  so  often  apparently  capricious,  that  there  is  pre 
sumptive  proof,  in  the  mind  of  the  infidel,  that  it  will  always 
continue  so  to  be.  And  yet  what  if,  amid  all  this  apparent 
disorder,  there  should  be  found  the  elements  of  a  grand  and 
glorious  system,  soon  to  rise  on  its  ruins  ?  What  if,  amid 
all  the  triumphs  of  vice,  there  should  still  be  found  evidence 
to  prove  that  God  works  by  an  unseen  power,  but  most  effec 
tually,  in  sending  judicial  inflictions  on  men  even  now  ?  And 
what  if,  amid  these  ruins,  there  is  still  to  be  found  evidence 
that  God  rewards  virtue  even  here,  and  is  preparing  for  it 
more  appropriate  rewards  hereafter — like  the  parts  of  a  beau 
tiful  temple  strewed  and  scattered  in  the  ruins  of  some  ancient 
city,  but  which,  if  again  placed  together,  would  be  symmetri 
cal,  harmonious,  and  grand  ? 

Christianity  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  such  is  the 
fact;  and,  amid  all  the  wreck  of  human  things,  we  can  still 
discover  certain  fixed  results  of  human  conduct.  The  conse 
quences  of  an  action  do  not  terminate  with  the  commission  of 
the  act  itself,  or  with  the  immediate  effect  of  that  act  on  the 
body.  They  travel  over  into  future  results,  and  strike  on 
some  other,  often  some  distant  part  of  our  earthly  existence. 
Frequently  the  true  effect  of  the  act  is  not  seen  except  Icyond 
some  result  that  may  be  considered  as  the  accidental  one  : 
though  for  the  sake  of  that  immediate  effect  the  act  may  have 
been  performed.  This  is  strikingly  the  case  in  the  worst 
forms  of  vice.  The  immediate  effect,  for  example,  of  intem 
perance  is  a  certain  pleasurable  sensation,  for  the  sake  of 
which  the  man  became  intoxicated.  The  true  effect,  or  the 
effect  as  part  <>f  moral  government,  travels  beyond  that 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  27 

temporary  delirium,  and  is  seen  in  the  loss  of  health,  charac 
ter,  and  peace ;  perhaps  not  terminating  in  its  consequences 
during  the  whole  future  progress  of  the  victim.  So  the  direct 
result  of  profligacy  may  be  the  gratification  of  passion ;  of 
avarice,  the  pleasurable  indulgence  of  a  grovelling  propensity ; 
of  ambition,  the  glow  of  feeling  in  splendid  achievements, 
or  the  grandeur  and  pomp  of  the  monarch  or  the  warrior ; 
of  duelling,  a  pleasurable  sensation  that  revenge  Las  been 
taken  for  insult.  3>ut  do  the  consequences  of  these  deeds 
terminate  here  ?  If  they  did,  we  should  doubt  the  moral 
government  of  God.  But  in  regard  to  their  ultimate  effects, 
the  universe  furnishes  but  one  lesson.  The  consequences 
of  these  deeds  travel  over  in  advance  of  this  pleasure,  and  fix 
themselves  deep,  beyond  human  power  to  eradicate  them,  in 
the  property,  health,  reputation,  or  peace  of  the  man  of  guilt ; 
nay,  perhaps  the  consequences  thicken  until  we  take  our  hist 
view  of  him  as  he  gasps  in  death,  and  all  that  we  know  of 
him,  as  he  goes  from  our  observation,  is  that  heavier  thunder 
bolts  are  seen  trembling  in  the  hand  of  God,  and  pointing 
their  vengeance  at  the  head  of  the  dying  man.  What  infidel 
can  prove  that  some  of  the  results,  at  least,  of  that  crime,  may 
not  travel  on  to  meet  him  in  his  future  being,  and  beset  his 
goings  there  ? 

Further,  as  a  general  law,  the  virtuous  are  prospered,  and 
the  wicked  punished.  Society  is  organized  for  this.  Laws 
arc  made  for  this.  The  entire  community  throws  its  arms 
around  the  man  of  virtue;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  entire 
community,  by  its  laws,  gathers  around  the  transgressor.  Let 
a  man  attempt  to  commit  a  crime,  and,  before  the  act  is  com 
mitted,  he  may  meet  with  fifty  evidences  that  he  is  doing  that 
which  will  involve  him  in  ruin.  He  must  struggle  with  his 
conscience.  He  must  contend  with  what  he  knows  to  have 
been  the  uniform  judgment  of  men.  He  must  keep  himself 
from  the  eye  of  justice.  He  must  overcome  all  the  proofs 


28  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

which  have  been  set  up  that  men  approve  of  virtue.  He  must 
shun  the  presence  of  every  man, — for,  from  that  moment,  every 
member  of  the  community  becomes,  of  course,  his  enemy. 
He  must  assume  disguises  to  secure  him  from  the  eye  of  jus 
tice.  He  must  work  his  way  through  the  community,  during 
the  rest  of  his  life,  with  the  continued  consciousness  of  crime ; 
eluding  by  arts  the  officers  of  the  law,  fearful  of  detection 
at  every  step,  and  never  certain  that,  at  some  unexpected 
moment,  his  crime  may  not  be  revealed,  and  the  heavy  arm 
of  justice  fall  on  his  guilty  head.  Now  all  this  proves  that  in 
his  view  he  is  under  a  moral  government.  How  knows  he 
that  the  same  system  of  things  may  not  meet  him  hereafter, 
and  that  in  some  future  world  the  hand  of  justice  may  not 
reach  him  ?  The  fact  is  sufficiently  universal  to  be  a  proper 
ground  of  action,  that  virtue  meets  with  its  appropriate 
reward,  and  that  vice  is  appropriately  punished.  So  universal 
is  this  fact,  that  more  than  nine-tenths  of  all  the  world  have 
confidently  acted  on  its  belief.  The  young  man  expects  that 
industry  and  sobriety  will  be  recompensed  in  the  healthful- 
ness,  peace,  and  honour  of  a  venerable  old  age.  The  votary 
of  ambition  expects  to  climb  the  steep  "where  fame's  proud 
temple  shines  afar,"  and  to  enjoy  the  rewards  of  office  or 
fame.  And  so  uniform  is  the  administration  of  the  world 
in  this  respect,  that  the  success  of  one  generation  lays  the 
ground  for  the  confident  anticipations  of  another.  So  it  has 
been  from  the  beginning  of  time,  and  so  it  will  be  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  We  ask  why  should  not  man,  with  equal 
reason,  suppose  that  his  conduct  now  may  affect  his  destiny 
at  the  next  moment  or  the  next  year  beyond  his  death  ?  Is 
there  any  violation  of  reason  in  supposing  that  the  soul  may 
be  active  there,  and  meet  there  the  results  of  conduct  here  ? 
Can  it  be  proved  that  death  suspends  or  annihilates  existence? 
Unless  it  can,  the  man  who  acts  in  his  youth  with  reference 
to  his  happiness  at  eighty  years  of  age,  is  acting  most  un- 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  29 

wisely  if  he  does  not  extend  his  thoughts  to  the  hundredth  or 
the  thousandth  year  of  his  being. 

What  if  it  should  be  found,  as  the  infidel  cannot  deny  it 
may  be,  that  death  suspends  not  existence  so  much  as  one 
night's  sleep  ?  At  the  close  of  each  day  we  see  the  powers 
of  man  prostrate.  Weakness  and  lassitude  come  over  all  the 
frame,  A  torpor,  elsewhere  unknown  in  the  history  of  animal 
nature,  spreads  through  all  the  faculties.  The  eyes  close,  the 
cars  become  deaf  to  hearing,  the  palate  to  taste,  the  skin  to 
touch,  the  nostrils  to  smell.  All  the  faculties  are  locked  in 
entire  insensibility,  alike  strangers  to  the  charms  of  music,  the 
tones  of  friendship,  the  beauties  of  creation,  the  luxury  of  the 
banquet,  and  the  voice  of  revelry.  The  last  indication  of  mind 
is  apparently  gone,  or  the  indications  of  its  existence  are  far 
feebler  than  when  we  see  man  die  in  the  full  exertion  of  his 
mental  powers,  sympathizing  in  the  feelings  of  friendship,  and 
cheered  by  the  hopes  of  religion.  Yet  God  passes  his  hand 
over  the  frame  when  we  sleep,  and,  instinct  with  life?  again 
we  rise  to  business,  to  pleasure,  or  to  ambition.  But  what 
are  the  facts  which  meet  us  as  the  result  of  the  doings  of  yes 
terday  ?  Have  we  lost  our  hold  on  those  actions  ?  The  man 
of  industry  yesterday,  sees,  to-day,  his  fields  waving  in  the 
sun,  rich  with  a  luxuriant  harvest.  The  professional  man 
of  business  finds  his  doors  crowded,  his  ways  thronged,  and 
multitudes  awaiting  his  aid  in  law,  in  medicine,  or  in  the  arts. 
The  man  of  virtue  yesterday,  reaps  the  reward  of  it  to-day, 
in  the  respect  and  confidence  of  mankind,  in  the  peace  of  an 
approving  conscience,  and  the  smiles  of  God.  The  man  of 
intemperate  living  rises  to  nausea,  retching,  pain,  and  wo. 
Poverty,  this  morning,  clothes  in  rags  the  body  of  him  who 
was  idle  yesterday ;  and  disease  clings  to  the  goings,  and  fixes 
itself  in  the  blood  of  him  who  was  dissipated.  Who  can  tell 
but  death  shall  be  less  a  suspension  of  existence  than  this 
night's  sleep  ?  Who  can  tell  but  that  the  consequences  of  our 


30  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

doings  here  shall  travel  over  our  sleep  in  the  tornb?  and  greet 
us  in  our  waking  in  some  new  abode  ?  Why  should  they  not'/ 
Why  should  God  appoint  a  law  so  wise  and  so  universal  here, 
that  is  to  fail  the  moment  we  pass  to  some  other  part  of  our 
being  ?* 

Nor  are  the  results  of  crime  confined  to  the  place  where  the 
act  was  committed.  Sin,  in  youth,  may  lay  the  foundation 
of  a  disease  that  shall  complete  its  work  on  the  other  side 
of  the  globe.  An  early  career  of  dissipation  in  America  may 
fix  in  the  frame  the  elements  of  a  disorder  that  shall  complete 
its  work  in  the  splendid  capital  of  the  French,  or,  it  maybe,  in 
the  sands  of  the  Equator  or  the  snows  of  Siberia.  If  crime 
may  thus  travel  in  its  results  around  the  globe  j  if  it  may 
reach  out  its  withering  hand  over  seas,  and  mountains,  and 
continents,  and  seek  out  its  fleeing  victim  in  the  solitary 
waste,  or  in  the  dark  night, — we  see  not  why  it  may  not  be 
stretched  across  the  grave,  and  meet  the  victim  there :  at  least 
we  think  the  analogy  should  make  the  transgressor  tremble, 
and  turn  pale  as  he  flies  to  eternity. 

But  it  is  still  objected  that  the  rewards  given  to  virtue  and 
the  pain  inflicted  on  vice  are  not  universal,  and  that  there  is 
not,  therefore,  the  proof  that  was  to  have  been  expected  that 
they  will  be  hereafter.  Here  we  remark  that  it  is  evidently 
not  the  design  of  religion  to  affirm  that  the  entire  system  can 
be  seen  in  our  world.  We  say  that  the  system  is  not  fully 
developed,  and  that  there  is,  therefore,  presumptive  proof  that 
there  is  another  state  of  things.  Every  one  must  have  been 
struck  with  the  fact,  that  human  affairs  are  cut  off"  in  the 
midst  of  their  way,  and  their  completion  removed  to  some 
other  world.  No  earthly  system  or  plan  has  been  carried  out 
to  its  full  extent.  There  is  no  proof  that  we  have  ever  seen 


Iliad,  H.  231. 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  31 

the  full  result  of  any  given  system  of  conduct.  We  see  the 
effect  of  vice  as  far  as  the  structure  of  the  IjoJij  will  allow. 
We  see  it  prostrate  the  frame,  produce  disease,  and  terminate 
in  death.  We  see  the  effect  on  body  and  mind  alike,  until 
we  lose  our  sight  of  the  man  in  the  grave.  There  our  obser 
vation  stops.  But  who  can  tell  what  the  effect  of  intempe 
rance,  for  example,  would  be  in  this  world,  if  the  body  were 
adjusted  to  bear  its  results  a  little  longer  ?  AVho  can  calcu 
late  with  what  accelerated  progress  the  consequences  would 
thicken  beyond  the  time  when  we  now  cease  to  observe  them? 
And  who  can  affirm  that  the  same  results  may  not  await 
the  mind  hereafter  ?  Again  we  ask  the  infidel  why  they 
should  not  ?  He  is  bound  to  tell  us.  The  presumption  is 
against  him. 

Beside,  the  effect  of  vice  is  often  arrested  in  its  first  stage. 
A  young  man  suddenly  dies.  For  some  purpose,  unseen  to 
human  eyes,  the  guilty  man  is  arrested  in  his  career,  and  the 
effect  of  his  crimes  is  removed  into  eternity.  Why  is  this 
more  improbable  than  that  the  irregularities  of  youth  should 
run  on,  and  find  their  earthly  completion  in  the  wretchedness 
and  poverty  of  a  dishonoured  old  age  ?  So  virtue  is  often 
arrested.  The  young  man  of  promise,  of  talent,  and  of  piety 
dies.  The  completion  of  the  scheme  is  arrested.  The  rewards 
are  dispensed  in  another  world.  So  says  religion.  And  can 
the  infidel  tell  us  why  they  should  not  be  dispensed  there,  as 
well  as  in  the  ripe  honours  of  virtuous  manhood  ?  This  is  a 
question  which  infidelity  must  answer. 

The  same  remarks  are  as  applicable  to  communities  as  to 
individuals.  It  is  to  be  remembered  here  that  virtue  has 
never  had  a  full  and  impartial  trial.  The  proper  effect  of 
virtue  here  would  be  seen  in  a  perfectly  pure  community. 
Let  us  suppose  such  an  organization  of  society.  Imagine  a 
community  of  virtuous  men,  where  the  most  worthy  citizens 
should  always  be  elected  to  office;  where  affairs  should  be 


32  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

suffered  to  flow  on  far  enough  to  give  the  system  a  complete 
trial;  where  vice,  corruption,  flattery,  bribes,  and  the  arts 
of  office-seeking  should  be  unknown;  where  intemperance, 
gluttony,  lust,  and  dishonest  gains  should  be  shut  out  by  the 
laws  and  by  the  moral  sense  of  the  commonwealth  •  where  indus 
try  and  sobriety  should  universally  prevail  and  be  honoured. 
Is  there  any  difficulty  in  seeing  that,  if  this  sj'stem  were  to 
prevail  for  many  ages,  the  nation  would  be  signally  prosper 
ous,  and  gain  a  wide  dominion  ?  And  suppose,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  community  made  up  on  the  model  of  the  New  Har 
mony  plan,  the  asylum  of  the  idle,  of  the  unprincipled  and 
the  profligate.  Suppose  that  the  men  of  the  greatest  physical 
power  and  most  vice  should  rule,  as  they  infallibly  would  do ; 
suppose  there  was  no  law,  but  the  single  precept  enjoining 
universal  indulgence ;  and  suppose  that  under  some  miracu 
lous  and  terrible  binding  together,  by  divine  pressure,  this 
community  should  be  kept  from  falling  to  pieces  or  destroying 
itself  for  a  few  ages,  is  there  any  difficulty  in  seeing  what 
would  be  the  proper  effect  of  crime  ?  Indeed  we  deem  it 
happy  for  the  world  that  one  founder  of  such  a  community 
has  been  permitted  to  live  to  make  the  experiment  on  a  small 
scale,  and  but  one,  lest  the  record  of  total  profligacy  and  cor 
ruption  should  not  be  confined  to  the  singularly-named  New 
Harmony.  All  this  proves  there  is  something  either  in  the 
framework  of  society  itself,  or  in  .the  agency  of  some  Great 
Being  presiding  over  human  things,  that  smiles  on  virtue 
and  frowns  on  vice.  In  other  words,  there  is  a  moral 
government. 

It  is  further  to  be  remarked,  that,  as  far  as  the  experiment 
has  been  suffered  to  go  on  in  the  world,  it  has  been  attended 
with  a  uniform  result.  Nations  are  suffered  to  advance  in 
wickedness  until  they  reach  the  point  in  the  universal  consti 
tution  of  things  that  is  attended  with  self-destruction.  So 
fell  Gomorrah,  Babylon,  Athens,  Rome, — expiring,  just  as  the 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  33 

drunkard  does,  by  excess  of  crime,  or  by  enervating  their 
strength  in  luxury  and  vice.  The  body  politic,  enfeebled  by 
corruption,  is  not  able  to  sustain  the  incumbent  load,  and 
sinks,  like  the  human  frame,  in  ruin.  So  has  perished  every 
nation,  from  the  vast  dominions  of  Alexander  the  Macedonian, 
to  the  mighty  empire  of  Napoleon,  that  has  been  reared  in 
lands  wet  with  the  blood  of  the  slain,  and  on  the  pressed  and 
manacled  liberties  of  man.  In  national,  as  well  as  in  private 
affairs,  the  powers  of  doing  evil  soon  exhaust  themselves. 
The  frame  in  which  they  act  is  not  equal  to  the  mighty  pres 
sure,  and  the  nation  or  the  individual  sinks  to  ruin.  Like 
some  tremendous  engine  of  many  wheels  and  complicated 
machinery,  when  the  balance  is  removed,  and  it  is  suffered  to 
waste  its  powers  in  self-propulsion,  without  checks  or  guides, 
the  tremendous  energy  works  its  own  ruin,  rends  the  machine 
in  pieces,  and  scatters  its  rolling  and  flying  wheels  in  a  thou 
sand  directions.  Such  is  the  frame  of  society,  and  such  the 
frame  of  an  individual.  So,  if  God  gave  up  the  world  to 
unrestrained  evil,  it  would  accomplish  its  own  perdition.  We 
see  in  every  human  frame,  and  in  the  mingled  and  clashing 
powers  of  every  society,  the  elements  of  ruin ;  and  all  that  is 
necessary  to  secure  that  ruin  is  to  remove  the  pressure  of  the 
hand  that  now  restrains  the  wild  and  terrific  powers,  and 
saves  the  world  from  self-destruction.  So,  if  virtue  had  a  fair 
trial,  it  would  be  as  complete  in  its  results.  In  heaven  it  will 
secure  its  own  rewards ;  like  the  machine  which  we  have  sup 
posed,  always  harmonious  in  its  movements.  So  in  hell  there 
will  be  the  elements  of  universal  misrule,  and  all  the  foreign 
force  that  will  be  necessary  to  secure  eternal  misery  will  be 
Almighty  power  to  preserve  the  terrible  powers  in  unre 
strained  being,  and  to  press  them  into  the  same  mighty  prison- 
house  ',  just  like  some  adamantine  enclosure  that  should  keep 
the  engine  together,  and  fix  the  locality  of  its  tremendous 
operatiocs. 


34  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

Long  ago  it  had  passed  into  a  proverb,  "  that  murder  Trill 
out."  This  is  just  an  illustration  of  what  we  are  supposing. 
Let  a  murderer  live  long  enough,  and  such  is  the  organization 
of  society,  that  vengeance  will  find  him  out.  Such,  we  sup 
pose,  would  be  the  case  in  regard  to  all  crime,  if  sufficient 
permanency  were  given  to  the  affairs  of  men,  and  if  things 
were  not  arrested  in  the  midst  of  their  way.  Results  in 
eternity,  we  suppose,  are  but  the  transfer  to  another  state 
of  results  which  would  take  place  here  if  the  guilty  were 
not  removed.  We  ask  the  infidel,  we  ask  the  Universalist, 
why  this  state  of  things  should  be  arrested  by  so  unimportant 
a  circumstance  as  death  ?  Here  is  a  uniform  system  of  things 
— uniform  as  far  as  the  eye  can  run  it  backward  into  past 
generations — uniform,  so  as  to  become  the  foundation  of  laws 
and  of  the  entire  conduct  of  the  world — and  uniform,  so  far 
as  the  eye  can  trace  the  results  of  conduct  forward  in  all  the 
landmarks  set  up  along  our  future  course.  Unless  God 
change,  and  the  affairs  of  other  worlds  are  administered  on 
principles  different  from  ours,  it  must  be  that  this  system  will 
receive  its  appropriate  termination  there.  It  belongs  to  the 
infidel  and  the  Universalist  to  prove  that  the  affairs  of  the 
universe  come  to  a  solemn  pause  at  death  \  that  we  are 
ushered  into  a  world  of  different  laws  and  different  principles 
of  government ;  that  we  pass  under  a  new  sceptre — a  sceptre, 
too,  not  of  justice,  but  of  disorder,  misrule,  and  the  arrest 
of  all  that  Grod  has  begun  in  his  administration;  that  the 
results  of  conduct,  manifestly  but  just  commenced  here,  are 
finally  arrested  by  some  strange  and  unknown  principle  at  our 
death;  and  that  we  are  to  pass  to  a  world  of  which  we  know 
nothing,  and  in  which  we  have  no  means  of  conjecturing 
what  will  be  the  treatment  which  crime  and  virtue  will 
receive.  We  ask  them,  can  they  demonstrate  this  strange 
theory?  Are  men  willing  to  risk  their  eternal  welfare  on  the 
presumption  that  God  ivill  be  a  different  being  there  from 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  35 

vltaf,  lie  is  here,  and  that  the  conduct  which  meets  with  ico 
here  will  there  meet  ivith  bliss?  Why  not  rather  suppose, 
as  Christianity  docs,  according  to  all  the  analogy  of  things, 
that  the-  same  almighty  hand  shall  be  stretched  across  all 
worlds  alike,  and  that  the  bolts  which  vibrate  in  His  hand 
now,  and  point  their  thunders  at  the  head  of  the  guilty,  shall 
fall  with  tremendous  weight  there,  and  close  in  eternal  life 
and  death  the  scenes  begun  on  earth  ?  "We  know  of  no  men 
who  are  acting  under  so  fearful  probabilities  that  their  views 
are  false,  as  those  who  deny  the  doctrine  that  crime  will  meet 
with  its  appropriate  reward  in  the  future  world.  Here  is  a 
long  array  of  uniform  facts;  all,  as  we  understand  them, 
founded  on  the  presumption  that  the  scheme  of  the  infidel 
cannot  be  true.  The  system  is  continued  through  all  the 
revolutions  to  which  men  are  subject.  Conduct,  in  its  results, 
travels  over  all  the  interruptions  of  sleep,  sickness,  absence, 
delirium,  that  man  meets  with,  and  passes  on  from  age  to  age. 
The  conduct  of  yesterday  terminates  in  results  to-day ;  that 
of  youth  extends  into  old  age ;  that  of  health,  reaches  beyond 
a  season  of  sickness  ',  that  of  sanity,  beyond  a  state  of  delirium. 
Crime  here  meets  its  punishment,  it  may  be,  after  we  have 
crossed  oceans,  and  snows,  and  sands,  in  some  other  part  of 
the  globe.  Far  from  country  and  home,  in  lands  of  strangers 
where  no  eye  may  recognise  or  pity  us  but  that  of  the  unseen 
witness  of  our  actions,  it  follows  us  in  remorse  of  conscience, 
or  in  the  judgments  of  the  storm,  the  siroc,  or  the  ocean. 
We  are  amazed  that  it  should  be  thought  that  death  will 
arrest  this  course  of  things,  and  that  the  mere  act  of  crossing 
that  narrow  vale  will  do  for  us  what  the  passage  from  yester 
day  to  to-day,  from  youth  to  age,  from  the  land  of  our  birth 
to  the  land  of  strangers  and  of  solitudes,  can  never  do. 
Guilty  man  carries  the  elements  of  his  own  perdition  within 
him ;  and  it  matters  little  whether  he  be  in  society  or  in  soli 
tude,  in  this  world  or  the  next,  the  inward  fires  will  burn, 


•36  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

and  the  sea,  and  the  dry  land,  and  the  burning  climes 
of  hell,  will  send  forth  their  curses. to  greet  the  wretched 
being  who  has  dared  to  violate  the  laws  of  the  unseen  God, 
and  to  "hail"  him  as  the  "new  possessor"  of  the  "pro- 
foundest  hell." 

But  the  infidel  still  objects  that  all  this  is  mere  probability, 
and  that,  in  concerns  so  vast,  it  is  unreasonable  to  act  without 
demonstration.  We  reply,  that  in  few  of  the  concerns  of  life 
do  men  act  from  demonstration.  The  farmer  sows  with  the 
probability  only  that  he  will  reap.  The  scholar  toils  with  the 
probability,  often  a  slender  one,  that  his  life  will  be  prolonged, 
and  that  success  will  crown  his  labours  in  subsequent  life. 
The  merchant  commits  his  treasures  to  the  ocean — embarks, 
perhaps,  all  he  has  on  the  bosom  of  the  deep — under  the  pro 
bability  that  propitious  gales  will  waft  the  riches  of  the  Indies 
into  port.  Under  this  probability,  and  this  only,  the  ambi 
tious  man  pants  for  glory  •  the  votary  of  pleasure  presses  to 
the  scene  of  dissipation ;  the  youth,  the  virgin,  the  man  of 
middle  life,  and  he  of  hoary  hairs,  alike  crowd  round  the 
scenes  of  honour,  of  vanity,  and  of  gain.  Nay  more,  some 
of  the  noblest  qualities  of  the  soul  are  brought  forth  only  on 
the  strength  of  probabilities  that  appear  slight  to  less  daring 
spirits.  In  the  eye  of  his  countrymen,  few  things  were  more 
improbable  than  that  Columbus  would  survive  the  dangers 
of  the  deep,  and  land  on  the  shores  of  a  new  hemisphere. 
Nothing  appeared  more  absurd  than  his  reasonings,  nothing 
more  chimerical  than  his  plans.  Yet,  under  the  pressure 
of  proof  that  satisfied  his  own  mind,  he  braved  the  dangers 
of  an  untraversed  ocean,  and  bent  his  course  to  regions  whose 
existence  was  as  far  from  the  belief  of  the  old  world  as  that 
of  heaven  is  from  the  faith  of  the  infidel.  Nor  could  the 
unbelieving  Spaniard  deny,  that  under  the  pressure  of  the 
probability  of  the  existence  of  a  western  continent,  some 
of  the  highest  qualities  of  mind  that  the  earth  has  seen  were 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  37 

exhibited  by  the  Genoese  navigator;  just  as  the  infidel  must 
admit  that  some  of  the  most  firm  and  noble  expressions  of 
soul  have  come  from  the  enterprise  of  gaining  a  heaven  and  a 
home  beyond  the  stormy  and  untra veiled  ocean  on  which  the 
Christian  launches  his  bark  in  discovery  of  a  new  world.  Wo 
might  add  also,  here,  the  names  of  Bruce,  of  Wallace,  of  Tell, 
of  Washington.  We  might  remark  how  they  commenced  the 
great  enterprises  whose  triumphant  completion  has  given 
immortality  to  their  names,  under  the  power  of  a  probability 
that  their  efforts  would  be  successful.  We  might  remark 
how  many  more  clouds  of  doubt  and  obscurity  clustered 
around  their  enterprises  than  have  ever  darkened  the  Chris 
tian's  path  to  heaven,  and  how  the  grandest  displays  of 
patriotism  and  prowess  that  the  world  has  known  have  grown 
out  of  the  hazardous  design  of  rescuing  Scotland,  Switzerland, 
and  America  from  slavery.  But  we  shall  only  observe  that 
there  was  just  enough  probability  of  success  in  these  cases  to 
try  these  men's  souls;  just  as  there  is  probability  enough  of 
heaven  and  hell  to  try  the  souls  of  infidels  and  of  Christians, 
to  bring  out  their  true  character,  and  answer  the  great  ends 
of  moral  government. 

But  here  the  infidel  acts  on  the  very  principle  which  he 
condemns.  He  has  not  demonstrated  that  his  system  is  true. 
From  the  nature  of  the  system  he  cannot  do  it.  He  acts, 
then,  on  a  probability  that  his  system  may  prove  to  be  true. 
And  were  the  subject  one  less  serious  than  eternity,  it  might 
be  amusing  to  look  at  the  nature  of  these  probabilities.  His 
system  assumes  it  as  probable  that  men  will  not  be  rewarded 
according  to  their  deeds ;  that  Christianity  will  turn  out  to  be 
false ;  that  it  will  appear  that  no  such  person  as  Jesus  lived, 
or  that  it  will  yet  be  proved  that  he  was  an  impostor ;  that 
twelve  men  were  deceived  in  so  plain  a  case  as  that  which 
related  to  the  death  and  resurrection  of  an  intimate  friend ; 
that  they  conspired  to  impose  on  men,  without  reward,  con- 

V.u    T.  4 


38  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

trary  to  all  the  acknowledged  principles  of  human  action,  and 
when  they  could  reap  nothing  for  their  imposture  but  stripes, 
contempt^  and  death ;  that  religion  did  not  early  spread  over 
the  Roman  empire  j  that  the  facts  of  the  New  Testament  are 
falsehood,  and,  of  course,  that  all  the  contemporaneous  confir 
mations  of  these  facts,  collected  by  the  indefatigable  Lardner, 
were  false  also;  that  the  Jews  occupy  their  place  in  the  nations 
by  chance,  and  exist  in  a  manner  contrary  to  that  of  all  other 
people  without  reason ;  that  all  the  predictions  of  their  dis 
persion,  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  of  the  overthrow  of 
Babylon,  and  Jerusalem,  and  Tyre,  are  conjectures,  in  which 
men,  very  barbarous  men,  conjectured  exactly  right,  while 
thousands  of  the  predictions  of  heathen  oracles  and  statesmen 
have  failed ;  that  the  remarkable  fact  should  have  happened 
that  the  most  barbarous  people  should  give  to  mankind  the 
only  intelligible  notices  of  God,  and  that  a  dozen  Galilean 
peasants  should  have  devised  a  scheme  of  imposture  to  over 
throw  all  the  true  and  all  the  false  systems  of  religion  in  the 
world.'  The  infidel,  moreover,  deems  it  probable  that  there  is 
no  God ;  or  that  death  is  an  eternal  sleep ;  or  that  we  have  no 
souls  ;  or  that  man  is  but  an  improved  and  educated  ape ;  or 
that  all  virtue  is  vain,  and  that  all  vice  stands  on  the  same 
level,  and  may  be  committed  at  any  man's  pleasure ;  or  that 
man's  wisdom  is  to  disregard  the  future,  and  live  to  eat  and 
drink  and  die ;  and  all  this,  too,  when  his  conscience  tells  him 
there  is  a  God,  when  he  does  act  for  the  future,  and  expects 
happiness  or  wo  as  the  reward  of  virtue  or  vice ;  when  he  is 
palsied,  as  he  looks  at  the  grave,  with  fears  of  what  is  beyond, 
and  turns  pale  in  solitude  as  he  looks  onward  to  the  bar  of 
God.  Now  we  hazard  nothing  in  saying  that  the  man  who  is 
compelled  to  act  as  the  infidel  is ;  who  has  all  these  probabili 
ties  to  cheer  him  with  the  belief  that  infidelity  is  true,  and 
this  when  it  has  no  system  to  recommend  as  truth,  and  when 
it  stands  opposed  to  all  the  analogy  of  things, — is  engaged  in 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  30 

a,  most  singular  employment,  when  he  denounces  men  for  acting 
on  the  probability  that  there  is  a  heaven,  a  God,  a  Saviour, 
and  a  hell.  It  seems  to  us  that  there  is  nothing  more  at  war 
with  all  the  noble  and  pure  feelings  of  the  soul  than  tin's 
attempt  to  "swing  man  from  his  moorings,"  and  send  him 
adrift  on  wild  and  tumultuous  seas,  with  only  the  M/mV,s 
probability  that  he  will  ever  reach  a  haven  of  rest.  It  is 
launching  into  an  ocean,  without  a  belief  that  there  is  an 
ocean ,  and  weathering  storms,  without  professing  to  believe 
that  there  may  be  storms ;  and  seeking  a  port  of  peace,  with 
out  believing  that  there  is  such  a  port;  and  acting  daily  with 
reference  to  the  future,  at  the  same  time  that  all  is  pro 
nounced  an  absurdity.  And  when  we  see  all  this,  we  ask 
instinctively,  can  this  be  man  ?  Or  is  this  being  right,  after 
all,  in  the  belief  that  he  is  only  a  semi-barbarous  ape,  or  a 
half-reclaimed  man  of  the  woods  ? 

But  we  are  gravely  told,  and  with  an  air  of  great  seeming 
wisdom,  that  all  presumption  and  experience  are  against  the 
miraculous  facts  in  the  New  Testament.  And  it  was,  for 
some  time,  deemed  proof  of  singular  philosophical  sagacity  in 
Hume,  that  he  made  the  discovery,  and  put  it  on  record  to 
enlighten  mankind.  For  our  own  part,  we  think  for  more 
attention  was  bestowed  on  this  sophistry  than  was  required ; 
and,  but  for  the  show  of  confident  wisdom  with  which  it  was 
put  forth,  we  think  the  argument  of  Campbell  might  have 
been  spared.  It  might  safely  be  admitted,  we  suppose,  that 
all  presumption  and  experience  were  against  miracles  before 
they  were  wrought : — and  this  is  no  more  than  saying  that 
they  were  not  wrought  before  they  were.  The  plain  matter 
of  fact,  apart  from  all  laboured  metaphysics,  is,  that  there  is  a 
presumption  against  most  facts  until  they  actually  take  place, 
because,  till  that  time,  all  experience  was  against  them. 
Thus  there  were  many  presumptions  against  the  existence 
of  such  a  man  as  Julius  Caesar.  No  man  would  have  ven- 


40  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

tared  to  predict  that  there  would  be  such  a  man.  There  were 
a  thousand  probabilities  that  a  man  of  that  name  would  not 
live  ]  as  many  that  he  would  not  cross  the  Rubicon  ]  as  many 
that  he  would  not  enslave  his  country ;  and  as  many  that  he 
would  not  be  slain  by  the  hand  of  such  a  man  as  Brutus;  and 
all  this  was  contrary  to  experience.  So  there  were  innume 
rable  improbabilities  in  regard  to  the  late  Emperor  of  France. 
It  was  once  contemplated,  we  are  told,  by  a  living  poet  who 
afterward  wrote  his  life  on  a  different  plan,  to  produce  a  bio 
graphy  grounded  on  the  improbabilities  of  his  conduct,  and 
showing  how,  in  fact,  all  those  improbabilities  disappeared  in 
Hie  actual  result.  The  world  stood  in  amazement,  indeed,  for 
a  few  years  at  the  singular  grandeur  of  his  movements.  Men 
saw  him  ride,  as  the  spirit  of  the  storm,  on  the  whirlwind  of 
the  revolution ;  and,  like  the  spirit  of  the  tempest,  amazed  and 
trembling  nations  knew  not  where  his  power  would  strike,  or 
what  city  or  state  it  would  next  sweep  into  ruin. "  But  the  world 
has  since  become  familiar  with  the  spectacle ;  men  have  seen 
that  he  was  naturally  engendered  by  the  turbid  elements; 
that  he  was  the  proper  creation  of  the  revolution ;  and  that 
if  lie  had  not  lived,  some  other  master-spirit  like  him  would 
have  seized  the  direction  of  the  tempest,  and  poured  its  deso 
lations  on  bleeding  and  trembling  Europe.  So  any  great 
discovery  in  science  or  art  is  previously  improbable,  and  con 
trary  to  experience.  We  have  often  amused  ourselves  with 
contemplating  what  would  have  been  the  effect  on  the  mind 
of  Archimedes,  had  he  been  told  of  the  power  of  one  of  the 
most  common  elements — an  element  which  men  who  see  boil 
ing  water  must  always  see  : — its  mighty  energy  in  draining 
deep  pits  in  the  earth,  in  raising  vast  rocks  of  granite,  in 
propelling  vessels  with  a  rapidity  and  beauty  of  which  the 
ancients  knew  nothing,  and  in  driving  a  thousand  wheels  in 
the  minutest  and  most  delicate  works  of  art.  To  the  ancient 
world  all  this  was  contrary  to  experience,  and  all  presumption 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  41 

was  against  it, — as  improbable,  certainly,  as  that  God  should 
have  power  to  raise  the  dead;  and  wo  doubt  whether  any 
evidence  of  divine  revelation  would  have  convinced  mankind 
three  thousand  years  ago,  without  the  actual  experiment,  of 
what  the  school-boy  may  now  know  as  a  matter  of  sober  and 
daily  occurrence  in  the  affairs  of  the  world.  So,  not  long 
since,  the  Copernican  system  of  astronomy  was  so  improbable, 
that,  for  maintaining  it,  Galileo  endured  the  pains  of  the  dun 
geon.  All  presumption  and  all  experience,  it  was  thought, 
were  against  it.  Yet,  by  the  discoveries  of  Newton,  it  has 
been  made,  to  the  great  mass  of  mankind,  devoid  of  all  impro 
babilities,  and  children  acquiesce  in  its  reasonableness.  So 
the  Oriental  king  could  not  be  persuaded  that  water  could  ever 
become  hard.  It  was  full  of  improbabilities,  and  contrary  to 
all  experience.  The  plain  matter  of  fact  is,  that,  in  regard  to 
all  events  in  history,  and  all  discoveries  in  science,  and  inven 
tions  in  the  mechanic  arts,  there  may  be  said  to  be  a  pre 
sumption  against  their  existence,  just  as  there  was  in  regard 
to  miracles ;  and  they  are  contrary  to  all  experience  until  disco 
vered,  just  as  miracles  are  until  performed.  And,  if  this  be  all 
that  infidelity  has  to  affirm  in  the  boasted  argument  of  Hume, 
it  seems  to  be  ushering  into  the  world,  with  very  unnecessary 
pomp,  a  very  plain  truism — that  a  new  fact  in  the  world  is 
contrary  to  all  experience ;  and  this  is  the  same  as  saying 
that  a  thing  is  contrary  to  experience  until  it  actually  is 
experienced. 

AVe  have  another  remark  to  make  on  this  subject.  It 
relates  to  the  case  with  which  the  improbabilities  of  a  case 
may  be  overcome  by  testimony.  We  doubt  not  that  the 
wonders  of  the  steam-power  may  be  now  credited  by  all  man 
kind,  and  we,  who  have  seen  its  application  in  so  many  forms, 
easily  believe  that  it  may  accomplish  similar  wonders  in  com 
binations  which  the  world  has  not  yet  witnessed.  The  incre 
dulity  of  the  age  of  Galileo,  on  the  subject  of  astronomy,  has 

4* 


42  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

been  overcome  among  millions  who  cannot  trace  the  demon 
strations  of  Newton,  and  who,  perhaps,  have  never  heard  his 
name.  It  is  by  testimony  only  that  all  this  is  done ;  and  on 
the  strength  of  this  testimony  .man  will  hazard  any  worldly 
interest.  He  will  circumnavigate  the  globe,  not  at  all  deterred 
by  the  fear  that  he  may  find,  in  distant  seas  or  lands,  different 
laws  from  those  which  the  Copernican  system  supposes.  We 
do  not  see  why,  in  like  manner,  the  improbabilities  of  religion 
may  not  vanish  before  testimony;  and  its  high  mysteries,  in 
some  advanced  period  of  our  existence,  become  as  familiar  to 
us  as  the  common  facts  which  are  now  the  subjects  of  our 
daily  observation.  Nor  can  we  see  why  the  antecedent  diffi 
culties  of  religion  may  not  as  easily  be  removed  by  competent 
proof,  as  those  which  appalled  the  minds  of  men  in  the  gran 
deur  of  the  astronomical  system,  or  the  mighty  power  of 
the  arts. 

We  wish  here  briefly  to  notice  another  difficulty  of  infi 
delity.  It  is,  that  it  is  altogether  improbable,  and  against  the 
analogy  of  things,  that  the  Son  of  God,  the  equal  of  the 
Father  of  the  universe,  should  stoop  to  the  humiliating  scenes 
of  the  mediation — should  consent  to  be  reviled,  buffeted,  and 
put  to  death.  We  answer,  men  are  very  incompetent  judges 
of  what  a  Divine  Being  may  be  willing  to  endure.  Who 
would  suppose,  beforehand,  that  God  would  submit  to  blas 
phemy  and  rebuke?  Yet  what  being  has  been  ever  more 
calumniated?  Who  has  been  the  object  of  more  scorn? 
Yvrhat  is  the  daily  offering  that  goes  up  from  the  wide  world 
to  the  Maker  of  all  worlds  ?  There  is  not  a  nation  that  does 
not  daily  send  up  a  dense  cloud  of  obscenity  and  profaneness 
as  its  offering. 

Scarce  a  corner  of  a  street  can  be  turned  but  our  ears  are 
saluted  with  the  sound  of  blasphemy — curses  poured  on 
Jehovah,  on  his  Son,  on  his  Spirit,  on  his  creatures,  on  the 
material  universe,  on  his  law.  To  our  minds,  it  is  no  more 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  43 

strange  that  the  Son  of  God  should  bear  reproach  and  pain 
with  patience  for  thirty  years,  than  that  the  God  of  creation 
should  bear  all  this  from  age  to  age,  and  as  an  offering  from 
the  wide  world.  We  have  only  to  reflect  on  what  the  blas 
phemer  would  do  if  God  should  be  imbodied,  and  reveal  him 
self  to  the  eye  in  a  form  so  that  human  hands  might  reach 
him  with  nails,  and  spears,  and  mock  diadems,  to  sec  an  illus 
tration  of  what  they  actually  did,  when  his  Son  put  himself 
in  the  power  of  blasphemers,  and  refused  not  to  die.  The 
history  of  the  blasphemer  has  shown  that,  if  he  had  the  power, 
long  ago  the  last  gem  in  the  Creator's  crown  would  have  been 
plucked  away ;  his  throne  would  have  crumbled  beneath  him ; 
his  sceptre  been  wrested  from  his  hand ;  and  the  God  of  crea 
tion,  like  his  Son  in  redemption,  would  have  been  suspended 
on  a  "  great  central"  cross  !  When  we  see  the  patience  of 
God  toward  blasphemers,  our  minds  are  never  staggered  by 
any  condescension  in  the  Redeemer.  We  see  something  in 
the  analogy  so  unlike  what  we  see  among  men,  that  we  are 
strongly  confirmed  in  the  belief  that  they  are  a  part  of  one 
great  system  of  things. 

We  have  thus  presented  a  specimen  of  the  nature  of  the 
argument  from  analogy.  Our  design  has  been  to  excite  to 
inquiry,  and  to  lead  our  readers  to  cultivate  a  practical  ac 
quaintance  with  this  great  work.  We  deem  it  a  work  of  prin 
ciples  in  theology — a  work  to  be  appreciated  only  by  those 
who  think  for  themselves,  and  who  are  willing  to  be  at  the 
trouble  of  carrying  out  these  materials  for  thought  into  a 
daily  practical  application  to  the  thousand  difficulties  which 
beset  the  path  of  Christians  in  their  own  private  reflections, 
in  the  facts  which  they  encounter,  and  in  the  inuendoes,  jibes, 
and  blasphemies  of  infidels.  We  know,  indeed,  that  the  argu 
ment  is  calculated  to  silence  rather  than  convince.  In  our 
view,  this  is  what,  on  this  subject,  is  principally  needed.  The 
question,  in  our  minds,  is  rather,  whether  we  may  believo 


44  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

there  is  a  future  state,  than  whether  we  must.  Sufficient  for 
mortals,  we  think  is  it,  in  their  wanderings,  their  crimes,  and 
their  sorrows,  if  they  may  believe  there  is  a  place  where  the 
wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  may  be  forever  at 
rest;  and  if  the  thousand  shades  of  doubt  on  that  subject 
which  thicken  on  the  path  of  man,  and  which  assume  a  deeper 
hue  by  infidel  arts,  may  be  removed.  We  ask  only  i\iQ  privi 
lege  of  believing  that  there  is  a  world  of  purity ;  that  the  trou 
bled  elements  of  our  chaotic  abode  may  settle  down  into  rest ; 
and  that  from  the  heavings  of  this  moving  sea  there  may 
arise  a  fair  moral  system,  complete  in  all  its  parts,  where  God 
shall  be  all  in  all,  and  where  all  creatures  may  admire  the 
beauty  of  his  moral  character,  and  the  grandeur  of  his  sove 
reign  control.  We  watch  the  progress  of  this  system  much 
as  we  may  suppose  a  spectator  would  have  watched  the  process 
of  the  first  creation.  At  first,  this  now  solid  globe  was  a  wild 
chaotic  mass.  Darkness  and  commotion  were  there.  There 
was  a  vast  heaving  deep,  a  boundless  commingling  of  ele 
ments,  a  dismal  terrific  wild.  Who,  in  looking  on  that 
moving  mass,  would  have  found  evidence  that  the  beauty  of 
Eden  would  so  soon  start  up  on  its  surface,  and  the  fair  pro 
portions  of  our  hills,  and  vales,  and  streams,  would  rise  to 
give  support  to  millions  of  animated  and  happy  beings  ?  And 
with  what  intensity  would  the  observer  behold  the  light 
bursting  on  chaos,  the  rush  of  waters  to  their  deep  caverns, 
the  uprising  of  the  hills  clothed  with  verdure,  inviting  to  life 
and  felicity  !  With  what  beauty  would  appear  the  millions 
sporting  with  their  new-created  life  in  their  proper  elements  ! 
Myriads  in  the  heaving  ocean  and  gushing  streams — myriads 
melodious  in  the  groves — myriads  joyful  on  a  thousand  hills 
and  in  a  thousand  vales.  How  grand  the  completion  of  the 
system !  man,  lord  of  all,  clothed  with  power  over  the  bursting 
millions ;  the  priest  of  this  new  creation,  rendering  homage  to 
its  Great  Sovereign  Lord,  and  "  extolling  him  first,  him  midst, 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  45 

and  him  without  end."  Like  beauty  and  grandeur,  we 
expect,  will  come  out  of  this  deranged  moral  sysfeTBv  Our 
eye  loves  to  trace  its  development.  With  tears  we  look  back 
on  u  Paradise  Lost;"  with  exultation  we  trace  the  unfolding 
elements  of  a  process  that  shall  soon  exhibit  the  beauty  and 
grandeur  of  "Paradise  Regained. " 

There  is  still  a  most  important  part  of  the  subject  un 
touched — the  analogy  of  the  Christian  scheme,  as  we  under 
stand  it,  to  the  course  of  nature,  and  the  fact  that  all  the 
objections  urged  against  Calvinism  lie  against  the  actual 
order  of  events.  This  part  of  the  argument  Butler  has  not 
touched.  To  this  we  propose  now  to  call  the  attention  of  our 
readers — in  some  respects  the  most  interesting  and  important 
part  of  "  the  analogy  of  religion,  natural  and  revealed,  to  the 
constitution  and  course  of  nature." 

Thus  far  we  have  had  our  eye  fixed  on  the  infidel.  We 
wish  now  to  direct  our  attention  to  the  opponents  of  what  we 
consider  the  Christian  scheme,  and  inquire  whether  Butler 
has  not  furnished  us  materials  to  annihilate  every  objection 
against  what  are  called  the  doctrines  of  grace.  We  say  mate 
rials,  for  we  are  well  aware  that  Butler  did  not  complete  the 
argument.  We  suppose,  that  had  his  object  been  to  carry  it 
to  its  utmost  extent,  there  were  two  important  causes  which 
would  have  arrested  its  progress  where  it  actually  has  stopped. 
The  first  is  found  in  Butler's  own  views  of  the  Christian 
scheme.  We  are  not  calling  in  question  his  piety,  but  we 
have  not  seen  evidence  that  he  had  himself  fully  embraced  the 
evangelical  system,  and  applied  his  argument  to  the  peculiar 
doctrines  of  the  gospel.  We  fear  that  he  stopped  short  of 
such  a  result  in  his  own  feelings,  and  that  this  may  have  been 
the  reason  why  that  system  had  not  a  more  prominent  place 
in  his  work.  Still  we  would  not  apply  the  language  of  severe 
criticism  to  this  deficiency  in  the  Analogy.  We  know  his 
design.  It  was  to  meet  the  infidelity  of  an  age  of  peculiar 


46  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

• 

thoughtlessness  and  vice.  He  did  it.  He  reared  an  argu 
ment  which  infidels  have  thought  it  most  prudent  to  lei  alone. 
They  have  made  new  attacks  in  other  modes.  Driven  from 
this  field,  they  have  yielded  it  into  the  hands  of  Butler, — and 
their  wisdom  has  consisted  in  withdrawing  as  silently  as  pos 
sible  from  the  field,  and  losing  the  recollection  both  of  the  din 
of  conflict  and  the  shame  of  defeat.  It  has  always  been  one 
of  the  arts  of  infidelity  and  error,  to  forget  the  scene  of  pre 
vious  conflict  and  overthrow.  Singular  adroitness  is  mani 
fested  in  keeping  from  the  public  eye  the  fact,  and  the 
monuments  of  such  disastrous  encounters.  Thus  Butler 
stands  as  grand  and  solitary  as  a  pyramid  of  Egypt,  and  we 
might  add,  nearly  as  much  forsaken  by  those  for  whose  benefit 
he  wrote.  And  thus  Edwards  on  the  Will  is  conveniently 
forgotten  by  hosts  of  Arminians,  who  continue  to  urge  their 
arguments  with  as  much  self-gratulation,  as  though  previous 
hosts  of  Arminians  had  never  been  prostrated  by  his  mighty 
arm.  Could  we  awaken  the  unpleasant  reminiscence  in  the 
infidels  of  our  age,  that  there  was  such  a  man  as  Butler,  and 
in  the  opposers  of  the  doctrines  of  grace,  that  there  is  extant 
in  the  English  language  such  a  book  as  "  A  Careful  Inquiry 
into  the  Modern  prevailing  Notions  on  the  Freedom  of  the 
"Will,"  we  should  do  more,  perhaps,  than  by  any  one  means 
to  disturb  the  equanimity  of  multitudes,  who  live  only  to 
deal  out  dogmas  as  if  they  had  never  been  confuted;  and 
we  might  hope  to  arrest  the  progress  of  those  destructive 
errors  which  are  spreading  in  a  thousand  channels  through 
the  land. 

The  other  cause  of  the  deficiency  which  we  notice  in  the 
Analogy  is,  that  it  was  not  possible  for  Butler,  with  the  state 
ments  then  made  of  the  doctrines  of  grace,  to  carry  out  his 
argument,  and  give  it  its  true  bearing  on  those  doctrines. 
The  philosophical  principles  on  which  Calvinism  had  been 
defended  for  a  century  and  a  half  were  substantially  those  of 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  47 

the  schoolmen.  The  system  had  started  out  from  darker  ages 
of  the  world ;  had  been  connected  with  minds  of  singular 
strength  and  power,  but  also  with  traits  in  some  degree  stern 
and  forbidding.  Men  had  been  thrown  into  desperate  mental 
conflict.  They  had  struggled  for  mental  and  civil  freedom. 
They  had  but  little  leisure,  and  less  inclination  to  polish  and 
adorn — to  eo  into  an  investigation  of  the  true  laws  of  the 

&  o 

mind,  and  the  proper  explanation  of  facts  in  the  moral  world 
— little  inclination  to  look  on  what  was  bland  and  amiable  in 
the  government  of  God.  Hence  they  took  the  rough-cast 
system,  wielded  in  its  defence  the  ponderous  weapons  which 
Augustine  and  even  the  Jansenites  had  furnished  them,  and 
prevailed  in  the  conflict,  not,  however,  by  the  force  of  their 
philosophy,  but  of  those  decisive  declarations  of  the  word  of 
God,  with  which  unhappily  that  philosophy  had  become  iden 
tified.  But  when  they  told  of  imputing  the  sin  of  one  man 
to  another,  and  of  holding  that  other  to  be  personally  answer 
able  for  it,  it  is  no  wonder  that  such  minds  as  that  of  Butler 
recoiled,  for  there  is  nothing  like  this  in  nature.  When  they 
affirmed  that  men  have  no  power  to  do  the  will  of  God,  and  yet 
will  be  damned  for  not  doing  what  they  have  no  capacity  to 
perform,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  started  back,  and  refused  to 
attempt  to  find  an  analogy;  for  it  is  unlike  the  common  sense 
of  men.  When  they  told  of  a  limited  atonement — of  con 
fining  the  original  applicability  of  the  blood  of  Christ  to  the 
elect  alone,  there  teas  no  analogy  to  this,  in  all  the  dealings 
of  God  toward  sinners ;  in  the  sunbeam,  in  the  dew,  in  the 
rain,  in  running  rivulets  or  oceans;  and  here  Butler  must 
stop,  for  the  analogy  could  go  no  farther  upon  the  then  pre 
valent  notions  of  theology. 

Still  we  record,  with  gratitude,  the  achievements  of  Butler. 
We  render  our  humble  tribute  of  thanksgiving  to  God  that  he 
raised  up  a  man  who  has  laid  the  foundation  of  an  argument 
which  can  be  applied  to  every  feature  of  the  Christian  scheme. 


48  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

"We  are  not  Hutchinsonians,  but  we  believe  there  is  a  course 
of  nature  most  strikingly  analogous  to  the  doctrines  of  revela 
tion.  We  believe  that  all  the  objections  which  have  been 
urged  against  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Christian  scheme, 
lie  with  equal  weight  against  the  course  of  nature  itself,  and, 
therefore,  really  constitute  no  objections  at  all.  This  point  of 
the  argument  Butler  has  omitted.  To  a  contemplation  of  the 
outline  of  it  we  now  ask  the  attention  of  our  readers. 

We  are  accustomed,  in  our  ordinary  technical  theology,  to 
speak  much  of  the  doctrines  of  Christianity ;  and  men  of  sys 
tem-making  minds  have  talked  of  them  so  long,  that  they 
seem  to  understand,  by  them,  a  sort  of  intangible  and  abstract 
array  of  propositions,  remote  from  real  life  and  from  plain 
matter  of  fact.  The  learner  in  divinity  is  often  told  that  there 
is  a  species  of  daring  profaneness,  in  supposing  that  they  are  to 
be  shaped  to  existing  facts  or  to  the  actual  operations  of  moral 
agents.  All  this  is  metaphysics,  and  the  moment  he  dares  to 
ask  whether  Turretin  or  Ridgeley  had  proper  conceptions  of 
the  laws  of  the  mind,  of  moral  agency,  or  of  facts  in  the 
universe,  that  moment  the  shades  of  all  antiquity  are  sum 
moned  to  come  around  the  adventurous  theologian,  and  charge 
him  with  a  guilty  departure  from  dogmas  long  held  in  the 
church. 

Now,  we  confess,  we  have  imbibed  somewhat  different 
notions  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  We  have  been  accus 
tomed  to  regard  the  word  as  denoting  only  an  authoritative 
teaching  (dida%TJ,  Matt.  vii.  28,  compare  v.  19,  xxii.  33, 
2  Tim.  iv.  2,  9,)  of  what  actually  exists  in  the  universe.  We 
consider  the  whole  system  of  doctrines  as  simply  a  statement 
of  facts.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  for  example,  is  a  state 
ment  of  a  fact  respecting  the  mode  of  God's  existence.  The 
fact  is  beyond  any  investigation  of  our  own  minds,  and  we 
receive  the  statement  as  it  is.  The  doctrine  of  the  mediation 
is  a  statement  of  facts  respecting  what  Christ  did,  and  taught, 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  49 

and  suffered,  as  given  by  himself  and  his  followers.  So  of 
depravity,  so  of  election  or  predestination,  so  of  perseverance, 
so  of  future  happiness  and  wo.  What,  then,  are  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity  ?  Simply  staments  of  what  has  been,  of  what 
is,  and  what  will  be  in  the  government  of  God.  In  this  every 
thing  is  as  far  as  possible  from  abstraction.  There  is  as  little 
abstraction,  and,  why  may  we  not  add,  as  little  sacredness,  in 
these  facts — we  mean  sacredness  to  prevent  inquiry  into  their 
true  nature — as  there  is  in  the  science  of  geology,  the  growth 
of  a  vegetable,  or  the  operations  of  the  human  intellect. 
We  may  add,  that  in  no  way  has  systematic  theology 
rendered  more  essential  disservice  to  mankind,  than  in  draw 
ing  out  the  life-blood  from  these  great  facts — unstringing 
the  nerves,  stiffening  the  muscles,  and  giving  the  fixedness 
of  death  to  them,  as  the  anatomist  cuts  up  the  human  frame, 
removes  all  the  elements  of  life,  distends  the  arteries  and 
veins  with  wax,  and  then  places  it  in  his  room  of  prepara 
tions,  as  cold  and  repulsive  as  are  some  systems  of  technical 
divinity. 

In  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  as  given  us  in  the  Bible, 
we  find  nothing  of  this  abstract  and  unreal  character.  The 
whole  tenor  of  the  Scriptures  prepares  us  to  demand  that  theo 
logy  be  invariably  conformed  to  the  laws  of  the  mind  and  the 
actual  economy  of  the  moral  and  material  universe.  *  The 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  orthodox  systems  of  divi 
nity  since  the  era  of  the  Reformation  have  been  chiefly  owing 
to  the  changes  in  the  system  of  mental  and  moral  science. 
Whenever  that  system  shall  be  fully  understood,  and  esta 
blished  on  the  immovable  foundation  of  truth,  all  who  love 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  will  be  of  one  mind  in 
their  mode  of  stating  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  as  they 
already  are  in  their  spiritual  feelings.  Till  then,  all  that  can 
be  done  by  the  friends  of  truth  will  be  to  show,  that  the 
objections  which  are  urged  against  the  doctrines  of  grace,  can 
VOL.  I.  5 


50  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

be  urged,  with  equal  power,  against  all  the  facts  in  God7  a 
moral  government. 

From  the  beginning,  formidable  objections  have  been 
brought  against  what  are  called  the  Doctrines  of  Grace,  or  the 
Evangelical  System,  or  Calvinism.  These  objections  have 
seldom,  if  ever,  been  drawn  from  the  Bible.  Their  strength 
has  consisted  in  the  alleged  fact,  that  these  doctrines  are  in 
opposition  to  the  established  principles  by  which  God  governs 
the  world.  We  concede  that  there  is  just  enough  of  apparent 
irregularity  in  those  principles  to  make  these  objections  plau 
sible  with  the  great  mass  of  men,  just  as  there  was  enough 
of  irregularity  and  improbability  in  the  Copernican  system  of 
astronomy,  to  make  it  for  a  long  time  liable  to  many  and  plau 
sible  objections.  Certain  appearances  strongly  favoured  the 
old  doctrine,  that  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  travelled,  in  mar 
shalled  hosts,  around  our  insignificant  orb,  just  as,  in  the 
Arminian  system,  certain  appearances  may  seem  to  indicate 
that  man  is  the  centre  of  the  system,  and  that  God,  and  all 
the  hosts  of  heaven,  live  and  act  chiefly  to  minister  to  his 
comfort.  But  it  is  now  clear  that  all  the  proper  facts  in 
astronomy  go  to  prove,  that  the  earth  is  a  small  part  of  the 
plan,  and  to  confirm  the  system  of  Copernicus.  So  we  affirm 
that  the  Calvinistic  scheme,  despite  all  Arminian  appearances, 
is  the  plan  on  which  this  world  is  actually  governed ;  and  that 
all  the  objections  that  have  been  urged  against  it  are  urged 
against  facts  that  are  fixed  in  the  very  nature  of  things.  And 
we  affirm  that  a  mind  which  could  take  in  all  these  facts, 
could  make  up  the  Calvinistic  scheme  without  the  aid  of  reve 
lation,  from  the  actual  course  of  events;  just  as  in  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  city  the  skilful  architect  can  discern  in  the 
broken  fragments,  pillars  of  just  dimensions,  arches  of  proper 
proportions,  and  the  remains  of  edifices  of  symmetry  and 
grandeur. 

In  entering  on  this  subject,  however,  we  cannot  but  remark, 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  51 

that  the  evangelical  scheme  is  often  held  answerable  for  that 
which  it  did  not  originate.  We  mean  that,  when  opposers 
approach  the  Christian  system,  they  almost  universally  hold  it 
responsible  for  the  fall,  as  well  as  the  recovery  of  man.  They 
are  not  willing  to  consider  that  it  is  a  scheme  proposed  to 
remedy  an  existing  state  of  evil.  Christianity  did  not  plunge 
men  into  sin.  It  is  the  system  by  which  men  are  to  be  reco 
vered  from  wo — wo  which  would  have  existed  to  quite  as 
great  an  extent,  certainly,  if  the  conception  of  the  evangelical 
system  had  never  entered  the  Divine  mind.  The  theory  and 
practice  of  medicine  is  not  to  be  held  answerable  for  the  fact 
that  man  is  subject  to  disease  and  death.  It  finds  men  thus 
subject;  and  all  that  can  be  justly  required  of  the  art  is,  that 
to  which  it  makes  pretensions,  viz.  that  it  can  do  something 
toward  removing  or  alleviating  human  suffering.  So  in 
Christianity.  That  men  are,  in  fact,  in  the  midst  of  sin? 
suffering,  and  death,  is  undeniable.  The  doctrine  is  common 
to  the  deist,  the  atheist,  and  the  Christian.  For  that  Chris 
tianity  is  not  answerable.  It  proposes  a  remedy,  and  that 
remedy  is  properly  the  Christian  system.  Still  we  shall  not, 
in  our  present  discussion,  avail  ourselves  of  this  very  obvious 
remark  j  but  shall  proceed  to  notice  the  objections  to  the 
entire  series  of  revealed  facts,-  as  if  they  constituted  one  sys 
tem  : — and  the  rather  as  the  evangelical  system  proposes  a 
statement  respecting  the  exact  extent  of  the  evil,  which  has 
an  important  bearing  on  the  features  of  the  remedy  proposed. 
1.  The  first  fact,  then,  presented  for  our  examination  is  the 
fan  of  man.  The  Scriptures  affirm  that  a  solitary  act — an 
act  in  itself  exceedingly  unimportant — was  the  beginning  of 
that  long  train  of  sin  and  wretchedness  which  has  passed  upon 
our  world.  Now,  we  acknowledge  that  to  all  the  mystery  and 
fearfulness  of  this  fact  our  bosoms  beat  with  a  full  response  to 
that  of  the  objector.  We  do  not  understand  the  reason  of  it; 
and  what  is  of  more  consequence  to  us  and  to  the  objector,  is, 


52  ESSAYS   AND   KEVIEWS. 

that  an  explanation  of  this  mystery  forms  no  part  of  tlie  sys 
tem  of  revelation.  The  only  inquiry  at  present  before  us,  is, 
whether  the  fact  in  question  is  so  separated  from  all  other 
events,  as  to  be  expressly  contradicted  by  the  analogy  of 
nature. 

We  know  there  has  been  a  theory  which  affirms  that  we  are 
one  with  Adam — that  we  so  existed  in  his  loins  as  to  act  with 
him — that  our  wills  concurred  with  his  will — that  his  action 
was  strictly  and  properly  ours — and  that  we  are  held  answer 
able  at  the  bar  of  justice  for  that  deed,  just  as  A.  B.  at  fifty  is 
responsible  for  the  deed  of  A.  B.  at  twelve.  In  other  words, 
that  the  act  of  Adam  involving  us  all  in  ruin,  is  taken  out  of 
all  ordinary  laws  by  which  God  governs  the  world,  and  made 
to  stand  by  itself,  as  incapable  of  any  illustration  from  ana 
logy,  and  as  mocking  any  attempt  to  defend  it  by  reasoning. 
With  this  theory  we  confess  we  have  no  sympathy ;  and  we 
shall  dismiss  it  with  saying,  that,  in  our  view,  Christianity 
never  teaches  that  men  are  responsible  for  any  sin  but  their 
own;  nor  can  they  be  guilty,  or  held  liable  to  punishment,  in 
the  proper  sense  of  that  term,  for  conduct  other  than  that 
which  has  grown  out  of  their  own  wills.  Indeed,  we  see  not 
how,  if  it  were  a  dogma  of  a  pretended  revelation  that  God 
might  at  pleasure,  and  by  an  arbitrary  decree,  make  crime 
pass  from  one  individual  to  another — striking  onward  from 
age  to  age,  and  reaching  downward  to  "  the  last  syllable  of 
recorded  time/' — punished  in  the  original  offender;  re- 
punished  in  his  children ;  and  punished  again  and  again,  by 
infinite  multiples,  in  countless  ages  and  individuals — and  all 
this  judicial  infliction,  for  a  single  act  performed  cycles  of  ages 
before  the  individuals  lived,  we  see  not  how  any  evidence 
could  shake  our  intrinsic  belief  that  this  is  unjust  and  impro 
bable.  We  confess  we  have  imbibed  other  views  of  justice  ; 
and  we  believe  that  he  who  can  find  the  head  and  members 
of  this  theory  in  the  Bible,  will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  53 

there  any  of  the  dogmas  of  the  darkest  night  that  ever  settled 
on  the  church. 

But  that  the  consequences  or  results  of  an  action  may  pass 
over  from  one  individual  to  another,  and  affect  the  condition 
of  unborn  generations,  we  hold  to  be  a  doctrine  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  and  to  be  fully  sustained  by  the  analogy  of  nature.* 
And  no  one  who  looks  at  the  scriptural  account  of  the  fall  and 
recovery  of  man,  can  doubt  that  it  is  a  cardinal  point  in  the 
system .  We  affirm  that  it  is  a  doctrine  fully  sustained  by  the 
course  of  events  around  us.  Indeed,  the  fact  is  so  common, 
that  we  should  be  exhausting  the  patience  of  our  readers  by 
attempting  to  draw  out  formal  instances.  Who  is  ignorant 
of  the  progressive  and  descending  doom  of  the  drunkard  ? 
Who  is  a  stranger  to  the  common  fact  that  his  intemperance 
wastes  the  property  which  was  necessary  to  save  a  wife  and 
children  from  beggary ;  that  his  appetite  may  be  the  cause  of 
his  family's  being  despised,  illiterate,  and  ruined ;  that  the 
vices  which  follow  in  the  train  of  his  intemperance  often 
encompass  his  offspring,  and  that  they,  too,  are  profane,  un 
principled,  idle,  and  loathsome  ?  So  of  the  murderer,  the 
thief,  the  highwayman,  the  adulterer.  The  result  of  their 
conduct  rarely  terminates  with  themselves.  They  are  lost  to 
society,  and  their  children  are  lost  with  them.  Nor  does  the 
evil  stop  here.  Not  merely  are  the  external  circumstances 
of  the  child  affected  by  the  misdeeds  of  a  parent,  but  there  is 
often  a  dark  suspicion  resting  upon  his  very  soul  j  there  is  felt 
to  be  in  him  a  hereditary  presumptive  tendency  to  trime, 
which  can  be  removed  only  by  a  long  course  of  virtuous  con- 

*  Rom.  v.  12-19;  1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22,  49  j  Josh.  vii.  24,  25;  Ex. 
xvii.  16  ;  1  Sam.  xv.  2,  3  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  35.  This  view  is  by  no  means  con 
fined  to  revelation.  The  ancient  heathen  long  since  observed  it,  and 
regarded  it  as  the  great  principle  on  which  the  world  was  governed.  Thus 
Ilesiod  says,  "  mAXim  Kal  ^v^naaa  TTO\IS  KaKoii  ai/dpoj  ixavpov."  And  Horace 
says,  "  Quicquid  delirant  reges  plectuntur  Achivi." 

5* 


54  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

duct,  and  which  even  then  the  slightest  circumstance  re- 
excites.  Is  an  illegitimate  child  to  blame  for  the  aberration 
of  a  mother  ?  Yet  who  is  ignorant  of  the  fact  that,  in  very 
few  conditions  of  society,  such  a  son  is  placed  on  a  level  with 
the  issue  of  lawful  wedlock  ?  So  the  world  over,  we  approach 
the  son  of  the  drunkard,  the  murderer,  and  the  traitor,  with 
all  these  terrible  suspicions.  The  father's  deeds  shut  our 
doors  against  him.  Nor  can  he  be  raised  to  the  level  of  his 
former  state,  but  by  a  long  course  of  purity  and  well-doing. 
Now  in  all  these  cases,  we  see  a  general  course  of  things  in 
divine  providence  corresponding  in  important  respects  to  the 
case  of  Adam  and  his  descendants.  We  do  not  deem  the 
child  guilty,  or  ill-deserving,  but  society  is  so  organized,  and 
sin  is  so  great  an  evil,  that  the  proper  effects  cannot  le  seen, 
and  the  proper  terror  he  infused  into  the  mind  to  deter  from 
it,  loithout  such  an  organization.  It  is  true,  that  these  results 
do  not  take  place  with  undeviating  certainty.  It  is  not 
always  the  case  that  the  child  of  a  drunkard  is  intemperate, 
idle,  or  illiterate,  while  it  is  always  the  case,  that  a  descend 
ant  of  Adam  is  a  sinner.  In  the  former  case,  there  may  be 
other  laws  of  government  to  prevent  the  regular  operations  of 
the  plan.  In  the  latter,  God  has  not  seen  fit  wholly  to  inter 
rupt  the  regular  process  in  a  single  instance.  Even  when 
men  are  renewed — as  the  child  of  the  drunkard  may  be 
removed  from  the  regular  curse  of  the  parent's  conduct — 
the  renewed  man  still  is  imperfect,  and  still  suffers  pain 
and  death. 

But,  we  know,  there  is  an  appearance  of  much  that  is  for 
midable  in  the  difficulty,  that  a  single  act,  and  that  a  most 
unimportant  one,  should  result  in  so  many  crimes  and  calami 
ties.  But  the  objection,  as  we  have  seen,  lies  against  the 
course  of  nature  as  truly  as  against  the  revealed  facts  resulting 
from  the  connection  of  Adam  and  his  descendants.  To  lessen 
the  objection,  we  would  further  remark,  that  it  is  not  the  out- 


BUTLERS   ANALOG!.  55 

ward  form  of  an  action  which  determines  its  character  and 
results.  The  blow  which,  in  self-defence,  strikes  a  highway 
man  to  the  earth,  may  have  the  same  physical  qualities  as  that 
which  reached  the  heart  of  the  venerable  White  of  Salem.  It  is 
the  circumstances,  the  attendants,  the  relations,  the  links  tliat 
bind  the  deed  to  others,  the  motives,  which  determine  the 
character  of  the  action.  Adam's  act  had  this  towering  pre 
eminence,  that  it  was  the  first  in  the  newly-created  globe,  and 
committed  by  the  first  of  mortals ;  the  prospective  father  of 
immense  multitudes.  In  looking  at  it,  then,  we  are  to  turn 
from  the  mere  physical  act,  to  run  the  eye  along  the  conduct 
of  his  descendants,  and  to  see  if  we  can  find  any  other  deeds 
that  shall  be  first  in  a  series,  and  then  to  mark  their  results, 
and  in  them  we  shall  find  the  proper  analogy.  Now  it  is  evi 
dent,  that  here  we  shall  find  no  other  act  that  will  have  the 
same  awful  peculiarity  as  the  deeds  of  our  first  father.  But 
are  there  no  acts  that  can  be  "  set  over  against' '  this  to  illus 
trate  its  unhappy  consequences  ?  We  look,  then,  at  the  deed 
of  a  man  of  high  standing  whose  character  has  been  blameless, 
and  whose  ancestry  has  been  noble.  We  suppose  him,  in  an 
evil  moment,  to  listen  to  temptation,  to  fall  into  the  wiles  of 
the  profligate,  or  even  to  become  a  traitor  to  his  country. 
Now  who  does  not  see  how  the  fact  of  this  being  the  first  and 
characteristic  deed  may  entail  deeper  misery  on  his  friends, 
and  stain  the  escutcheon  of  his  family  with  a  broader  and 
fouler  blot  ?  Or  take  an  instance  which  approaches  still 
nearer  to  the  circumstances  of  our  first  parent's  crime.  One 
false  step,  the  first  in  a  before-virtuous  female  of  honourable 
parentage,  and  high  standing,  spreads  sackcloth  and  wo  over 
entire  families,  and  sends  the  curse  prolonged  far  into  advanc 
ing  years.  It  needs  no  remark  to  show  how  much  that  deed 
may  differ  in  its  results,  from  any  subsequent  acts  of  profli 
gacy  in  that  individual.  The  first  act  has  spread  mourning 
throughout  every  circle  of  friends.  Lost  now  to  virtue,  and 


56  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

disowned  by  friends,  the  subsequent  conduct  may  be  re 
garded  as  in  character }  and  the  results  terminate  only  in  the 
offending  individual.  It  is  impossible,  here,  not  to  recur 
to  the  melancholy  case  of  Dr.  Dodd.  His  crime  differed 
not  from  other  acts  of  forgery  except  in  his  circumstances. 
It  was  a  first  deed,  the  deed  of  a  man  of  distinction,  of  sup 
posed  piety,  of  a  pure  and  high  profession,  and  the  deed  stood 
out  with  a  dreadful .  pre-eminence  in  the  eyes  of  the  world ; 
nor  could  the  purity  of  his  profession,  nor  the  eloquence  of 
Johnson,  nor  the  voice  of  thirty  thousand  petitioners,  nor  the 
native  compassion  of  George  III.,  save  him  from  the  tremen 
dous  malediction  of  the  law — a  death  as  conspicuous  as  the 
offence  was  primary  and  eminent. 

We  think,  from  this  peculiarity  of  a  first  offence,  we  can 
meet  many  of  the  objections  which  men  allege  against  the 
doctrines  of  revelation  on  the  subject.  If  further  illustration 
were  needed,  we  might  speak  of  the  opposite,  and  advert  to 
the  well-known  fact,  that  a  first  distinguished  act  in  a  proge 
nitor  may  result  in  the  lasting  good  of  those  connected  with 
him  by  the  ties  of  kindred  or  of  law.  Who  can  reflect  without 
emotion  on  the  great  deed  by  which  Columbus  discovered  the 
Western  world,  and  the  glory  it  has  shed  on  his  family,  and 
the  interest  which,  in  consequence  of  it,  has  arisen  at  the  very 
name,  and  which  we  feel  for  any  mortal  that  is  connected  with 
him  ?  Who  can  remember  without  deep  feeling  the  philan 
thropy  of  Howard,  and  the  deathless  lustre  which  his  benevo 
lence  has  thrown  over  his  family  and  his  name  ?  Who  thinks 
of  the  family  of  Washington  without  some  deep  emotion  run 
ning  back  to  the  illustrious  man  whose  glory  has  shed  its 
radiance  around  Mount  Vernon,  around  his  family,  around 
our  capitol,  and  over  all  our  battle  fields,  and  all  the  millions 
of  whom  he  was  the  constituted  political  father  ?  There  is  a 
peculiarity  in  the  great  first  deed  which  sheds  a  lustre  on  all 
which,  by  any  laws  of  association,  can  be  connected  with  ii 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  57 

Compared  with  other  deeds  having,  perhaps,  the  same  phy 
sical  dimensions,  it  is  like  the  lustre  of  the  sun  diffusing  his 
beams  over  all  the  planets,  when  contrasted  with  the  borrowed, 
reflected  rays  of  the  rnoon  which  shines  upon  our  little  globe. 

Now  we  think  there  is  an  analogy  between  these  cases  and 
that  of  Adam,  because  we  think  it  is  a  fixed  principle  in 
moral  as  in  natural  legislation,  that  the  same  law  is  applicable 
to  the  same  facts.  "We  find  a  series  of  facts  on  the  earth,  and 
a  similar  series  in  the  movement  of  the  planets,  and  we  have 
a  single  term  to  express  the  whole — gravitation.  We  deem  it 
unphilosophical  to  suppose  that  nature  is  there,  in  the  same 
facts,  subjected  to  different  laws  from  what  passes  before  our 
own  eyes.  So  when  we  find  one  uniform  process  in  regard  to 
moral  conduct — when  we  find  results,  consequences,  and  not 
crimes,  travelling  from  father  to  son,  and  holding  on  their 
unbroken  way  to  distant  ages,  why  should  we  hesitate  to 
admit,  that  to  a  great  extent,  at  least,  the  facts  respecting 
Adam  and  his  descendants  fall  under  the  same  great  law  of 
Divine  providence  ?  "We  do  not  here  deny,  that  there  may 
have  been  beyond  this  a  peculiarity  in  the  case  of  Adam, 
which  must  be  referred  to  the  decisions  of  Divine  wisdom,  and 
justified  on  other  principles  than  those  of  any  known  analogy. 
But  we  never  can  adopt  that  system  which  tramples  on  all 
the  analogies  which  actually  exist,  and  holds  men  to  be  per 
sonally  answerable,  and  actually  punished  by  a  just  God,  for 
an  act  committed  thousands  of  years  before  they  were  born. 
Such  a  doctrine  is  nowhere  to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures. 

2.  As  the  result  of  this  act  of  Adam,  Christianity  affirms 
that  man  is  depraved.  It  has  marked  the  character  and  ex 
tent  of  this  depravity,  with  a  particularity  which  we  wonder 
has  ever  been  called  into  debate.*  It  affirms  that  man  is  by 


*  Rom.  i.  21-32 ;   iii.  10-19 ;   v.  12;   viii.  6,  7  j   Gen.  viii.  21 ;    Ps.  xir. 
1-3  ;  Eph.  ii.  1-3 ;  1  John  v.  19 ;  John  iii.  1-6. 


58  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

nature  destitute  of  holiness,  and  it  is  on  the  ground  of  this 
fact  that  the  Christian  scheme  was  necessary.  There  is  one 
great  principle  running  through  the  whole  of  this  scheme, 
which  renders  it  what  it  is,  viz. — the  appointment  of  a  Media 
tor.  It  regards  man  as  so  fallen,  and  so  helpless,  that  but  for 
an  extraordinary  intervention — the  appointment  of  some  being 
that  should  interpose  to  save — it  was  impossible  that  any 
native  elasticity  in  the  human  powers  or  will,  or  any  device 
which  human  ingenuity  might  fall  on,  should  raise  him  up, 
and  restore  him  to  the  favour  of  God.  Now  the  thing  which 
most  manifestly  characterizes  this  system  is  the  doctrine  of 
substitution — or  the  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  lived  for  others, 
toiled  for  others,  and  died  for  others ;  or,  in  other  words,  that 
God  bestows  upon  us  pardon  and  life  in  consequence  of  what 
his  Son  has  done  and  suffered  in  our  stead.*  The  peculiarity 
which  distinguishes  this  system  from  all  others,  is,  that  man 
does  not  approach  his  Maker  directly,  but  only  through  the 
atonement  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Now  in  recurring  to  the  analogy  of  nature,  we  have  only  to 
ask,  whether  calamities  which  are  hastening  to  fall  on  us  are 
ever  put  back  by  the  intervention  of  another  ?  Are  there  any 
cases  in  which  either  our  own  crimes  or  the  manifest  judg 
ments  of  God  are  bringing  ruin  upon  us,  where  that  ruin  is 
turned  aside  by  the  intervention  of  others  ?  Now  we  at  once 
cast  our  eyes  backward  to  all  the  helpless  and  dangerous 
periods  of  our  being.  Did  God  come  forth  directly  and  pro 
tect  us  in  the  defenceless  period  of  infancy  ?  Who  watched 
over  the  sleep  of  the  cradle,  and  guarded  us  in  sickness  and 
helplessness  ?  It  was  the  tenderness  of  a  mother  bending 
over  our  slumbering  childhood,  foregoing  sleep,  and  rest,  and 
ease,  and  hailing  toil  and  care  that  ice  might  be  defended. 


*  John  i.  29;   Eph.  v.  2;   1  John  ii.  2;   iy.  10;   Isa.  liii.  4;    Rom.  iii. 
24,  25 ;  2  Cor.  v.  14 ;  1  Peter  ii.  21. 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  59 

Why,  then,  is  it  strange,  when  God  thus  ushers  us  into  exist 
ence  through  the  pain  and  toil  of  another,  that  he  should  con 
vey  the  blessings  of  a  higher  existence  by  the  groans  and 
pangs  of  a  higher  mediator  ?  God  gives  us  knowledge.  But 
does  he  come  forth  to  teach,  us  by  inspiration,  or  guide  us  by 
his  own  hand  to  the  fountains  of  wisdom  ?  It  is  by  years  of 
patient  toil  in  others,  that  we  possess  the  elements  of  science, 
the  principles  of  morals,  the  endowments  of  religion.  He 
gives  us  food  and  raiment.  Is  the  Great  Parent  of  benevolence 
seen  clothing  us  by  his  own  hand,  or  ministering  directly  to 
our  wants  ?  Who  makes  provision  for  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  feebleness  or  gayety  or  idleness  ?  "Who  but  the  care-worn 
and  anxious  father  and  mother,  who  toil  that  their  offspring 
may  receive  these  benefits  from  their  hands  ?  Why,  then,  may 
not  the  garments  of  salvation,  and  the  manna  of  life,  come 
through  a  higher  mediator,  and  be  the  fruit  of  severer  toil  and 
sufferings  ?  Heaven's  highest,  richest  benefits  are  thus  con 
veyed  to  the  race  through  thousands  of  hands  acting  as  me 
diums  between  man  and  God.  It  is  thus,  through  the  instru 
mentality  of  others,  that  the  Great  Giver  of  life  breathes 
health  into  our  bodies  and  vigour  into  our  frames.  And  why 
should  he  not  reach  also  the  sick  and  weary  mind — the  soul 
languishing  under  a  long  and  wretched  disease,  by  the  hand 
of  a  mediator  ?  Why  should  he  not  kindle  the  glow  of  spi 
ritual  health  on  the  wan  cheek,  and  infuse  celestial  life  into 
our  veins,  by  Him  who  is  the  great  physician  of  souls  ?  The 
very  earth,  air,  waters,  are  all  channels  for  conveying  blessings 
to  us  from  God.  Why,  then,  should  the  infidel  stand  back, 
and  all  sinners  frown,  when  we  claim  the  same  thing  in  re 
demption,  and  affirm,  that,  in  this  great  concern,  "  there  is 
one  mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus, 
who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all  ?" 

But  still  it  may  be   said,  that  this  is  not  an  atonement. 
We  admit  it.     Wre  maintain  only  that  it  vindicates  the  main 


60  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

principle  of  the  atonement,  and  shows  that  it  is  according  to  a 
general  law,  that  God  imparts  spiritual  blessings  to  us  through 
a  mediator.  What,  we  ask,  is  the  precise  objectionable  point 
in  the  atonement,  if  it  be  not,  that  God  aids  us  in  our  sins  and 
woes,  by  the  self-denial  and  sufferings  of  another  ?  And  we 
ask,  whether  there  is  any  thing  so  peculiar  in  such  a  system, 
as  to  make  it  intrinsically  absurd  and  incredible?  Now  we 
think  there  is  nothing  more  universal  and  indisputable  than  a 
system  of  nature  like  this.  God  has  made  the  whole  animal 
world  tributary  to  man.  And  it  is  by  the  toil  and  pain  of 
creation  that  our  wants  are  supplied,  our  appetites  gratified, 
our  bodies  sustained,  our  sickness  alleviated;  that  is,  the 
impending  evils  of  poverty,  famine,  or  disease  are  put  away 
by  these  substituted  toils  and  privations.  By  the  blood  of 
patriots  he  gives  us  the  blessings  of  liberty ;  that  is,  by  their 
sufferings  in  our  defence  we  are  delivered  from  the  miseries 
of  rapine,  murder,  or  slavery,  which  might  have  encompassed 
our  dwellings.  The  toil  of  a  father  is  the  price  by  which  a 
son  is  saved  from  ignorance,  depravity,  want,  or  death.  The 
tears  of  a  mother,  and  her  long  watchfulness,  save  from  the 
perils  of  infancy,  and  an  early  death.  Friend  aids  friend  by 
toil ;  a  parent  foregoes  rest  for  a  child ;  and  the  patriot  pours 
out  his  blood  on  the  altars  of  freedom,  that  others  may  enjoy 
the  blessings  of  liberty;  that  is,  that  others  may  not  be 
doomed  to  slavery,  want,  and  death, 

Yet  still  it  may  be  said,  that  we  have  not  come,  in  the 
analogy,  to  the  precise  point  of  the  atonement,  in  producing 
reconciliation  with  God  by  the  sufferings  of  another.  We  ask, 
then,  what  is  the  Scripture  account  of  the  effect  of  the  atone 
ment  in  producing  reconciliation  ?  Man  is  justly  exposed  to 
suffering.  He  is  guilty,  and  it  is  the  righteous  purpose  of 
God  that  the  guilty  should  suffer.  God  is  so  opposed  to  him, 
that  he  will  inflict  suffering  on  him  unless  by  an  atonement  it 
is  prevented.  By  the  intervention  of  the  atonement,  there- 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  61 

fore,  the  Scriptures  affirm  that  such  sufferings  shall  be  averted. 
The  man  shall  be  saved  from  the  impending  calamity.  Suffi 
cient  for  all  the  purposes  of  justice,  and  of  just  government, 
has  fallen  on  the  substitute,  and  the  sinner  may  be  pardoned 
and  reconciled  to  God.  Now,  we  affirm,  that  in  every 
instance  of  the  substituted  sufferings,  or  self-denial,  of  the 
parent,  the  patriot,  or  the  benefactor,  there  occurs  a  state  of 
things  so  analogous  to  this,  as  to  show  that  it  is  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  just  government  of  God,  and  to  remove 
all  the  objections  to  the  peculiarity  of  the  atonement.  Over 
a  helpless  babe — ushered  into  the  world  naked,  feeble,  speech 
less,  there  impends  hunger,  cold,  sickness,  sudden  death — 
a  mother's  watchfulness  averts  these  evils.  Over  a  nation 
impend  revolutions,  sword,  famine,  and  the  pestilence.  The 
blood  of  the  patriot  averts  these,  and  the  nation  smiles  in 
peace.  Look  at  a  particular  instance.  Xerxes  poured  his 
millions  on  the  shores  of  Greece.  The  vast  host  darkened  all 
the  plains,  and  stretched  towards  the  capitol.  In  the  train 
there  followed  weeping,  blood,  conflagration,  and  the  loss 
of  liberty.  Leonidas  almost  alone  stood  in  his  path.  He 
fought.  Who  can  calculate  the  effects  of  the  valour  and 
blood  of  that  single  man  and  his  compatriots  in  averting  cala 
mities  from  Greece,  and  from  other  nations  struggling  in 
the  cause  of  freedom  ?  Who  can  tell  how  much  of  rapine, 
of  cruelty,  and  of  groans  and  tears  it  turned  away  from  that 
nation  ? 

Now  we  by  no  means  affirm  that  this  is  all  that  is  meant 
by  an  atonement  as  revealed  by  Christianity.  We  affirm 
only,  that  there  is  a  sufficient  similarity  in  the  two  cases,  to 
remove  the  points  of  objection  to  an  atonement  made  by 
the  infidel, — to  show  that  reconciliation  by  the  offerings  of 
another,  or  a  putting  away  evils  by  the  intervention  of  a 
mediator,  is  not  a  violation  of  the  analogies  of  the  natural  and 
moral  world.  Indeed,  we  should  have  thought  it  an  argument 
VOL.  I.  6 


62  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

for  the  rejection  of  a  system,  if  it  had  not  contemplated  the 
removal  of  evils  by  the  toils  and  pains  of  substitution.  We 
maintain  that  the  system  of  the  Unitarians,  which  denies  all 
such  substitution,  is  a  violation  of  all  the  modes  in  which  God 
has  yet  dispensed  his  blessings  to  men.  In  the  nature  of  the 
case,  there  is  all  the  antecedent  presumption  there  could  be, 
that,  if  God  intended  to  confer  saving  blessings  on  mankind, 
it  would  be  by  the  interposition  of  the  toils,  groans,  and  blood 
of  a  common  mediating  friend.  The  well-known  case  of  the 
King  of  the  Locrians,  is  only  an  instance  of  the  way  in  which 
reconciliation  is  to  be  brought  about  among  men.  He  made  a 
law  that  the  adulterer  should  be  punished  with  the  loss  of  his 
eyes.  His  son  was  the  first  offender.  The  feelings  of  the 
father  and  the  justice  of  the  king  conflicted.  Reconciliation 
was  produced  by  suffering  the  loss  of  one  eye  himself,  and 
inflicting  the  remainder  of  the  penalty  on  his  son. 

But  still,  there  are  two  points  in  the  atonement  so  well  sub 
stantiated,  and  yet  apparently  contradictory,  that  it  becomes 
an  interesting  inquiry,  whether  both  positions  can  find  an 
analogy  in  the  course  of  events.  The  first  is,  that  the  atone 
ment  was  originally  applicable  to  all  men — that  it  was  not 
limited  by  its  nature  to  any  class  of  men,  or  any  particular 
individuals — that  it  was  an  offering  made  for  the  race,*  and  is, 
when  made,  in  the  widest  and  fullest  sense,  the  property  of 
man  ;  and  the  second  is,  that  it  is  actually  applied  to  only  a 
portion  of  the  race,  and  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  God  that  it 
should  be  so  applied.f 

Now  in  regard  to  the  first  aspect  of  the  atonement  sug 
gested,  we  can  no  more  doubt  that  it  had  this  original,  uni- 


*  2  Cor.  Y.  14,  15;  1  John  ii.  2;  Heb.  ii.  9;  John  iii.  16,  17;  vi.  51  j 
2  Peter  ii.  1. 

f  Isa.  liii.  10 ;  John  xvii.  2  j  Eph.  i.  3-11;  Rom.  viii.  29,  30;  ix.  15-24; 
John  vi.  37,  39 ;  2  Tim.  i.  9. 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  03 

vcrsal  applicability,  than  we  can  any  of  the  plainest  proposi 
tions  of  the  Bible.  If  this  is  not  clear,  nothing  can  bo  clear 
in  the  use  of  the  Greek  and  English  tongues — and  we  discern 
in  this,  we  think,  a  strict  accordance  with  the  ordinary  provi 
sions  which  God  has  made  for  man.  We  look  at  any  of  his 
gifts — from  the  smallest  that  makes  life  comfortable,  to  the 
richest  in  redemption,  and  we  shall  not  find  one  that  m  i/s 
naty'c,  is  limited  in  its  applicability  to  any  class  of  indivi 
duals.  The  sun  on  which  we  look  sheds  his  rays  on  all — on 
all  alike ;  the  air  we  breathe  has  an  original  adaptation  to  all 
who  may  inhale  it,  and  is  ample  for  the  want  of  any  number  of 
millions.  From  the  light  of  the  feeblest  star,  to  full-orbed 
day;  from  the  smallest  dew-drop,  to  the  mountain-torrent; 
from  the  blushing  violet,  to  the  far-scented  magnolia  •  there  is 
an  original  applicability  of  the  gifts  of  Providence  to  all  the 
race.  They  are  fitted  to  man  as  man,  and  the  grandeur  of 
God's  beneficence  appears  in  spreading  the  earth  with  fruits 
and  flowers,  making  it  one  wide  garden,  in  place  of  the  strait 
ened  Paradise  that  was  lost.  We  might  defy  the  most  acute 
defender  of  the  doctrine  of  limited  atonement  to  produce  an 
instance  in  the  provisions  of  God,  where  there  was  a  designed 
limitation  in  the  nature  of  the  thing.  We  shall  be  slow  to 
believe  that  God  has  not  a  uniform  plan  in  his  mode  of 
governing  men. 

But  still  it  will  be  asked,  what  is  the  use  of  a  universal 
atonement,  if  it  is  not  actually  applied  to  all  ?  Does  God 
work  in  vain  ?  Or  would  he  make  a  provision,  in  the  dying 
groans  of  his  Son,  that  was  to  be  useless  to  the  universe  ?  We 
might  say  here,  that  in  our  view,  there  is  no  waste  of  this  provi 
sion, — that,  the  sufferings  which  were  requisite  for  the  race  were 
only  those  which  were  demanded  in  behalf  of  a  single  indi 
vidual  ;  and  that  we  are  ignorant  of  the  way  of  applying  gauges 
and  decimal  admeasurements  and  pecuniary  computations  to  a 
grand  moral  transaction.  But  we  reply,  that  it  is  according 


64  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

to  God's  way  of  doing  things  that  many  of  his  provisions 
should  appear  to  us  to  be  vain.  We  see  in  this,  the  hand  of 
the  same  God  that  pours  the  rays  of  noon-day  on  barren  sands, 
and  genial  showers  on  desert  rocks,  where  no  man  is — to  our 
eye,  though  not  to  liis,  in  vain.  Who  knows  not  that  the  sun 
sheds  his  daily  beams  on  half  the  globe  covered  with  trackless 
waters;  and  around  thousands  of  dungeons  where  groans  in 
darkness  the  prisoner  ?  But  some  Solon  or  Cadmus  maj^yet 
cross  those  oceans,  to  bear  law  and  letters  to  the  barbarian ; 
some  Howard  to  pity  and  relieve  the  sufferer ;  some  Xavier  or 
Vanderkenip  to  tell  benighted  men  of  the  dying  and  risen  Son 
of  God.  So  we  say  of  the  atonement.  It  is  not  useless. 
Other  ages  shall  open  their  eyes  upon  this  Sun  of  righteous 
ness  ;  shall  wash  in  this  open  fountain ;  shall  pluck  the  fruit 
from  this  tree  of  life ;  shall  apply  for  healing  to  the  balm  of 
Gilead,  and  find  a  physician  there. 

But  still  it  was  the  purpose — the  decree  of  God,  that  this 
atonement  should  be  actually  applied  to  but  a  part — we 
believe  ultimately  a  large  part — of  the  human  family.  By 
this  we  mean,  that  it  is  in  fact  so  applied,  and  that  this  fact 
is  the  expression  of  the  purpose  or  decree  of  God.  So  it  is 
with  all  the  objects  we  have  mentioned.  Food  is  not  given  to 
all.  Health  is  not  the  inheritance  of  all.  Liberty,  peace, 
and  wealth,  are  diffused  unequally  among  men.  We  interpret 
the  decrees  of  God,  so  far  as  we  can  do  it,  by  facts;  and  we 
say  that  the  actual  result,  by  whatever  means  brought  about, 
is  the  expression  of  the  design  of  God.  Nor  can  any  man 
doubt  that  the  dissemination  of  these  blessings  is  to  be  traced 
to  the  ordering  of  God.  Is  it  owing  to  any  act  of  man,  that 
the  bark  of  Peru  was  so  long  unknown,  or  that  the  silver  of 
Potosi  slept  for  ages  unseen  by  any  human  eye  ?  Is  there  not 
evidence  that  it  was  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
giver,  that  the  favour  should  not  be  bestowed  on  men  till 
Columbus  crossed  the  main,  and  laid  open  the  treasures  and 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  65 

the  tnateria  medica  of  the  West,  to  an  avaricious  and  an 
afflicted  world  ?  We  are  here  struck  with  another  important 
analogy  in  the  manner  in  which  God's  plans  are  developed. 
Who  would  have  imagined  that  so  important  a  matter  as  the 
discovery  of  a  new  world,  should  have  depended  on  the  false 
reasonings  and  fancies  of  an  obscure  Genoese  ?  Who  would 
have  thought  that  all  the  wealth  of  Potosi  should  have  de 
pended,  for  its  discovery,  on  so  unimportant  a  circumstance  as 
an  Indian's  pulling  up  a  shrub  by  accident  in  hunting  a  deer? 
So  in  'the  redemption  of  man — in  the  applicability  of  the 
atonement.  Who  is  ignorant  that  the  Reformation  originated 
in  the  private  thoughts  of  an  obscure  man  in  a  monastery  ? 
A  Latin  Bible  fallen  on  as  accidentally,  and  a  treasure  as 
much  unknown,  as  Hualpi's  discovery  of  the  mines  of  Potosi, 
led  the  way  to  the  most  glorious  series  of  events  since  the  days 
of  the  apostles. 

But  it  is  still  said,  that  it  is  unreasonable  for  men  to  suffer 
in  consequence  of  not  being  put  in  possession  of  the  universal 
atonement ;  and  that  Christianity  affirms  there  is  no  hope  of 
salvation  but  in  the  Son  of  God.*  So  it  does.  But  the  affir 
mation  is  not  that  men  are  guilty  for  not  being  acquainted 
with  that  scheme,  but  that  they  lie  under  the  curses  of  the 
antecedent  state  before  mentioned,  from  which  Christianity 
came  to  deliver.  The  Hindoo  suffers  and  dies  under  the  rage 
of  a  burning  fever.  The  fault  is  not  that  he  is  ignorant  of 
the  virtues  of  quinine,  nor  is  he  punished  for  this  ignorance 
of  its  healing  qualities ;  but  he  is  lying  under  the  operation 
of  the  previous  state  of  things,  from  which  medicine  contem 
plates  his  rescue.  Half  the  world  is  shut  out  from  benefits 
which  they  might  enjoy  by  being  made  acquainted  with  the 
provisions  for  their  help.  Their  sufferings  are  not  a  punish 
ment  for  this  want  of  knowledge.  They  are  the  operation  of 

*  Acts  iv.  12. 


66  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

the  system  from  which  they  might  be  delivered  by  the  provi 
sions  made  for  their  welfare.  How  much  suffering  might  have 
been  saved  had  Jenner  lived  a  century  earlier.  Is  it  contrary, 
then,  to  the  analogy  of  nature,  to  suppose  that  men  may  suffer 
in  consequence  of  the  want  of  the  gospel,  and  even  that  in 
eternity  they  may  continue  under  the  operation  of  that  pre 
vious  state  of  things  to  which  the  gospel  has  never  been 
applied  to  relieve  them  ?  He  who  opposes  Christianity  be 
cause  it  implies  that  man  may  suffer,  if  its  healing  balm 
is  not  applied,  knows  not  what  he  says,  nor  whereof  he 
affirms.  He  is  scoffing  at  the  analogy  of  the  world,  and  calling 
in  question  the  wisdom  of  all  the  provisions  of  God  to  aid 
suffering  man. 

3.  On  the  ground  of  man's  depravity,  and  of  the  necessity 
of  an  atonement  for  sin,  the  gospel  declares  that  without  a 
change  of  heart  and  life,  none  can  be  saved.*  It  affirms  that 
contrition  for  past  sins,  and  confidence  in  the  Son  of  God,  are 
indispensable  for  admission  to  heaven.  Now  we  scarce  know 
of  any  point  on  which  men  so  reluctate  as  they  do  here. 
That  so  sudden,  thorough,  and  permanent  a  revolution  should 
be  demanded,  that  it  should  be  founded  on  things  so  unmean 
ing  as  repentance  and  faith,  that  all  which  man  can  enjoy  or 
suffer  forever,  should  result  from  a  change  like  this,  they 
deem  a  violation  of  every  principle  of  justice.  And  yet,  per 
haps,  there  is  no  doctrine  of  revelation  which  is  more  strongly 
favoured  by  the  analogy  of  nature.  Can  any  one  doubt  that 
men  often  experience  a  sudden,  and  most  important  revolution 
of  feeling  and  purpose  ?  We  refer  not  here  to  a  change  in 
religion,  but  in  regard  to  the  principles  and  the  actions  of 
common  life.  Who  is  ignorant  that  from  infancy  to  old  age, 
the  mind  passes  through  many  revolutions — that  as  we  leave 
the  confines  of  one  condition  of  our  being,  and  advance  to 

*  John  iii.  3,  5,  36;  Mark  xvi.  16. 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  67 

another,  a  change,  an  entire  change,  becomes  iflcttspensable, 
or  the  whole  possibility  of  benefiting  ourselves  by  the  new 
condition  is  lost.  He  who  carries  with  him  into  youth  the 
playfulness  and  follies  of  childhood,  who  spends  that  season 
of  his  life  in  building  houses  with  cards,  or  in  trundling  a 
hoop,  is  characterized  by  weakness,  and  must  lose  all  the  bene 
fits  appropriate  to  that  new  period  of  existence.  He  who  goes 
into  middle  life  with  a  "  bosom  that  carries  anger  as  the  flint 
bears  fire"-1 — who  has  not  suffered  his  passions  to  cool,  and  his 
mental  frame  to  become  fixed  in  the  compactness  of  mature 
and  vigorous  life,  gives  a  pledge  that  the  bar,  the  bench,  or 
the  desk — the  counting-room,  the  office,  or  the  plough,  have 
little  demand  for  ILLS  services,  and  that  his  hopes  will  be  for 
ever  blasted.  The  truth  is,  that  at  the  beginning  of  each  of 
these  periods,  there  was  a  change  demanded — that  on  that 
change  depended  all  that  followed  in  the  next  succeeding, 
perhaps  in  every  succeeding  period,  and  that  when  the  change 
does  not  exist,  the  period  is  characterized  by  folly,  indolence, 
ignominy,  or  vice.  The  same  remark  might  be  extended  to 
old  age,  and  to  all  the  new  circumstances  in  which  men  may 
be  placed.  We  ask,  then,  why  some  revolutions  similar  in 
results — we  mean  not  in  nature — should  not  take  place  in 
reference  to  the  passage  from  time  to  eternity  ? 

But  our  argument  is  designed  to  bear  on  the  great  moral 
change  called  regeneration.  Now  no  fact,  we  think,  is  more 
common  than  that  men  often  undergo  a  complete  transforma 
tion  in  their  moral  character.  It  would  be  difficult  to  meet, 
in  the  most  casual  and  transitory  manner,  with  any  individual, 
who  could  not  remark  that  his  own  life  had  been  the  subject 
of  manv  similar  revolutions,  and  that  each  change  fixed  the 
character  of  the  subsequent  period  of  his  existence.  At  one 
period  he  was  virtuous.  Then  temptation  crossed  his  path, 
and  the  description  which  we  would  have  given  of  him  yester 
day,  would  by  no  means  suit  him  to-day.  Or  at  one  time, 


68  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

he  was  profligate,  profane,  unprincipled.  By  some  process 
of  which  he  could,  perhaps,  scarce  give  an  account,  he  became 
a  different  man.  It  might  have  been  gradual — the  result  of 
long  thought, — of  many  resolutions,  made  and  broken, — of 
many  appeals,  of  much  weeping,  and  of  many  efforts  to  break 
away  from  his  companions.  Now,  what  is  important  for  us  to 
remark  is,  that  this  change  has  given  birth  to  a  new  course 
of  life,  has  initiated  him  into  a  new  companionship,  and  has 
itself  fixed  all  the  joys  or  sorrows  of  the  coming  period. 
Such  revolutions  in  character  seem  like  the  journeyings  of 
the  Arabian,  wandering  he  knows  scarcely  whither,  without 
compass,  comfort,  or  food,  till  in  his  progress  he  comes  to  a 
few  spreading  oases  in  the  desert.  His  reaching  this  paradise 
in  the  wide  waste  of  sand  decides,  of  course,  the  nature  of  his 
enjoyments  till  he  has  crossed  it,  and  secures  a  release  from 
the  perils  of  the  burning  desert.  In  human  life,  we  have 
often  marked  an  ascent  to  some  such  spot  of  living  green ;  we 
have  seen  the  profligate  youth  leaving  the  scene  of  dissipation, 
and  treading  with  a  light  heart  and  quick  step,  the  path  of 
virtue,  beside  cool,  living  streams,  and  beneath  refreshing 
bowers.  Christianity  affirms  that  a  similar  change  is  indis 
pensable  before  man  can  tread  the  broad  and  peaceful  plains 
of  the  skies.  And  it  affirms  that  such  a  change  will  fix  the 
condition  of  all  that  new  state  of  being, — or,  in  other  words, 
will  secure  an  eternal  abode  beneath  the  tree  of  life,  and  fast 
by  the  river  of  God.  We  wait  to  learn,  that  in  this,  religion 
has  made  any  strange  or  unreasonable  demand. 

It  is  a  further  difficulty  in  Christianity,  that  it  should  make 
such  amazing  bliss  or  wo  dependant  on  things  of  apparently 
so  little  consequence  as  repentance  and  faith.  We  shall  not 
here  attempt  to  show  the  philosophy  of  this,  or  even  to  set  up 
a  vindication.  We  affirm  only  that  man's  whole  condition  in 
this  life  often  depends  on  changes  as  minute,  apparently  as 
unphilosophical,  and  as  unimportant.  What  is  seemingly  of 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  69 

less  consequence  in  our  view,  when  we  tread  the  vale  of  years, 
than  the  change  from  infancy  to  childhood — and  again  to  boy 
hood — and  then  even  to  manhood — a  change  from  one  unim 
portant  object  to  another?  What  is  often  apparently  a  matter 
of  less  magnitude,  than  for  a  young  man  to  withdraw  from 
some  haunt  of  pleasure — a  thing  requiring  but  little  resolu 
tion  ;  but  it  may  be  stretching  in  its  results  to  all  his  coming 
life  ?  A  change  of  an  opinion,  or  a  habit,  or  a  companion, 
may  be  often  a  most  unimportant  circumstance;  and  yet  it 
may  determine  one's  character  for  the  entire  life.  It  is 
recorded  of  Paley,  one  of  the  acutest  and  most  powerful  men 
of  the  Christian  church,  that  he  was,  when  in  college,  idle 
and  a  spendthrift.  One  morning  a  rich  and  dissipated  fellow- 
student  came  into  his  room  with  this  singular  reproof:  "Paley, 
I  have  been  thinking  what  a  fool  you  are.  I  have  the  means 
of  dissipation,  and  can  afford  to  be  idle.  You  are  poor,  and 
cannot  afford  it.  /  should  make  nothing  if  I  were  to  apply 
myself.  You  are  capable  of  rising  to  eminence, — and,  pressed 
with  this  truth,  I  have  been  kept  awake  during  the  whole 
night,  and  have  now  come  solemnly  to  admonish  you.77  To 
this  singular  admonition,  and  to  the"  change  consequent  upon 
it,  Paley  owes  his  eminence,  and  the  church  some  of  the  ablest 
defences  of  the  truth  of  religion.  Now  who,  beforehand, 
would  have  thought  that  the  labours  of  such  a  man,  perhaps 
his  eternal  destiny,  and  so  many  of  the  proofs  of  Christianity, 
would  have  been  suspended  on  a  change  wrought  in  a  manner 
so  singular  and  surprising.  If,  as  no  one  can  deny,  man's 
doom  in  this  life  may  depend  on  revolutions  of  such  a  nature, 
we  are  ignorant  of  any  reason  why  the  doom  of  another  state 
may  not  be  fixed  by  a  similar  law. 

Perhaps  the  doctrine  which  has  appeared  to  most  infidels 
entirely  unmeaning  and  arbitrary,  is  that  which  demands  faith 
as  the  condition  of  salvation.  Repentance  is  a  doctrine  of 
more  obvious  fitness.  But  the  demand  of  faith  seems  to  be  an 


70  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

arbitrary  and  unmeaning  appointment.  And  yet  we  think  it 
indubitable,  that  on  man's  belief  depends  his  whole  conduct 
and  destiny  in  this  life.  What  enterprise  would  have  been 
more  unwise,  than  that  of  Columbus,  if  he  had  not  had  a 
belief  that  by  stretching  along  to  the  West,  he  might  reach 
the  Indies  ?  W^hat  more  foolish  than  the  conduct  of  Tell, 
and  Wallace,  and  Washington,  if  not  sustained  by  a  persua 
sion  that  their  country  might  be  free  ?  What  more  mad  than 
the  toils  of  the  young  man  bending  his  powers  to  the  acquisi 
tion  of  learning,  if  he  were  not  sustained  by  faith  in  some  yet 
unpossessed  honour  or  emolument?  What  more  frantic  than 
for  the  merchant  to  commit  his  treasures  to  the  deep,  if  he  did 
not  believe  that  prosperous  gales  would  re-waft  the  vessel, 
laden  with  riches,  into  port?  We  might  also  say,  that  faith 
or  confidence  in  others  is  demanded  in  every  enterprise  that 
man  ever  undertakes,  and  is  the  grand  principle  which  con 
ducts  it  to  a  happy  result.  We  need  only  ask  what  would  be 
the  condition  of  a  child,  without  faith  or  confidence  in  a 
parent;  of  a  pupil,  without  reliance  on  the  abilities  of  his 
teacher;  of  a  subject,  distrusting  the  sovereign;  of  a  soldier, 
doubting  the  skill  or  prowess  of  his  commander ;  of  a  trades 
man,  with  no  reliance  on  those  whom  he  employs?  What 
would  be  the  condition  of  commercial  transactions,  if  there 
were  no  established  confidence  between  men  of  different 
nations  ?  What  the  condition  of  arts,  and  of  arms,  if  this 
great  pervading  principle  were  at  once  cut  off?  In  all  these 
instances,  moreover,  this  principle  of  faith  is  the  index  and 
measure  of  the  aid  to  be  expected  from  others.  Is  it  any  new 
principle  that  the  child  who  has  no  confidence  in  a  father, 
usually  fails  of  his  favour ;  or  that  the  pupil  should  fail  of 
benefit,  if  he  doubts  the  qualifications  of  his  teacher  ?  And 
would  any  single  desolating  blow  so  cripple  all  enterprises, 
and  carry  such  ruin  into  the  political,  the  military,  and  the 
commercial  world,  as  to  destroy  the  faith  which  one  man 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  71 

reposes  in  another  ?  Is  it,  then,  a  strange  and  unknown  doc 
trine,  when  religion  says,  that  the  most  important  benefits  are 
suspended  on  faith  ?  Is  it  any  thing  more  than  one  instance 
of  a  general  principle,  which  confers  peace  and  wealth  on 
children ;  learning  on  the  scholar ;  success  on  the  tradesman ; 
liberty  on  those  who  struggle  for  it;  and  even  laurels  and 
crowns  on  those  who  pant  in  the  race  for  honour  and  in  the 
conflicts  of  war  ?  We  do  not  deem  it  strange,  therefore,  that 
God  should  have  incorporated  faith  into  a  scheme  of  religion ; 
and  proclaimed  from  pole  to  pole,  that  he  who  has  no  confi 
dence  in  counsellors  and  guides,  shall  be  without  the  benefit 
of  counsel  and  guidance ;  and  that  he  who  has  no  confidence 
in  the  Son  of  God,  shall  be  dissociated  from  all  the  benefits 
of  his  atonement. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  also,  that  the  faith  which  is  de 
manded  in  the  business  of  life  is  very  often  reposed  in  some 
persons  whom  we  have  never  seen.  How  few  subjects  of 
any  empire  have  ever  seen  the  monarch  by  whom  they  are 
governed  ?  Nay,  perhaps  the  man  who  holds  our  destiny  in 
his  hand  may  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe.  Under  his 
charge  may  be  the  property  which  we  embarked  on  the  bosom 
of  the  deep ;  or,  it  may  be,  the  son  whom  we  have  committed 
to  him  for  instruction.  Mountains  may  rise,  or  oceans  roll 
their  billows  forever  to  separate  us ;  but  the  bonds  of  faith 
may  be  unsevered  by  the  coldest  snows,  unscathed  by  the 
most  burning  sun,  and  unbroken  amid  all  the  rude  heavings 
of  ocean,  and  the  shocks  of  nations.  We  ask,  why  may  not  a 
similar  bond  stretch  toward  heaven,  and  be  fixed  to  the  throne 
of  the  Eternal  King  ?  Is  it  more  absurd  that  /  should  place 
my  confidence  in  the  unseen  Monarch  of  the  skies,  whom  I 
have  not  seen,  than  that  my  neighbour  should  place  reliance 
on  the  king  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  or  of  Britain,  or  of  Hawaii, 
alike  unseen  by  him  ? 

But  there  is  an  amazing  stupidity  among  men  on  the  sub- 


72  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

ject  of  religion;  and  it  cannot  be,  we  are  told,  that  God 
should  make  eternal  life  dependant  on  matters  in  which  men 
feel  so  little  interest.  We  might  reply  to  this;  that  it  is  not 
the  fault  of  God  that  men  are  so  indifferent.  He  has  done 
enough  to  arouse  them.  If  the  thunders  of  his  law,  the  reve 
lation  of  his  love  in  redemption,  and  the  announcement  that 
there  is  a  heaven  and  a  hell,  are  not  adequate  to  arouse  the 
faculties  of  man,  we  know  not  what  further  could  be  de 
manded.  God  has  no  other  system  of  wrath  to  bear  on 
human  spirits ;  and  heaven  and  hell  embosom  no  other  topics 
of  appeal.  But  we  reply  further,  that  no  fact  is  more  familiar 
to  us,  than  that  all  men's  interests  in  life  suffer  for  want  of 
sufficient  solicitude  concerning  them.  By  mere  heedlessness 
a  man  may  stumble  down  a  precipice,  nor  will  the  severity  of 
the  fall  be  mitigated  by  any  plea  that  he  was  thoughtless  of 
his  danger.  Thousands  of  estates  have  been  wrecked  by  want 
of  timely  attention.  Character  is  often  ruined  by  want  of 
proper  solicitude  in  selecting  companions.  Nay,  the  king 
of  terrors  comes  into  our  dwellings,  perfectly  unmoved  by  any 
inquiry  whether  we  were  awaiting  his  approach  or  not;  and 
stands  over  our  beds,  and  wields  his  dart,  and  chills  our  life- 
blood,  with  as  much  coolness  and  certainty  as  if  we  were 
paying  the  closest  attention  to  the  evidences  of  his  approach. 
And  why  should  we  expect  that  mere  indifference,  or  want  of 
anxiety,  should  avert  the  consequences  of  crime  in  the  eternal 
world  ? 

It  is  also,  we  think,  an  undoubted  doctrine  of  the  Christian 
scheme,  that  the  great  change  required  in  man  is  the  work  of 
God.*  And  it  is  no  small  difficulty  with  the  infidel,  that  so 
important  results  are  dependant  on  a  change  which  owes  its 
existence  to  the  will  of  a  distant  being.  Yet  we  cannot  be 


*  John  i.  13;  iii.  5,  8;  Rom.  ix.  16,  18 ;  Eph.  ii.  1 ;  1  Peter  i.  3  ;  1  John 
v.  1 ;  Ezek.  xi.  19  ;   John  vi.  44,  45. 


73 

insensible  to  the  fact  that  all  our  mercies  hang  on  the  will  of 
this  great,  invisible  God.  When  we  say  that  the  salubrity 
of  the  air,  the  wholesomeness  of  water,  the  nutrition  of  plants, 
and  the  healing  power  of  medicine,  all  owe  their  efficacy  to 
his  will,  we  are  stating  a  fact  which  physiology  is,  at  last, 
coming  to  see  and  acknowledge.  At  all  events,  man  does  not 
feel  himself  straitened  in  obligation  or  in  effort,  by  the  fact 
that  the  success  of  his  exertions  depends  on  causes  unseen  and 
unknown  ?  All  but  atheists  acknowledge  that  health  flows 
through  the  frame  of  man  because  God  is  its  giver.  Infancy 
puts  on  strength  and  walks;  childhood  advances  to  youth; 
man  rises  from  a  bed  of  sickness,  or  fractured  limbs  again 
become  compact,  because  God  sits  in  the  heavens,  and  sends 
down  his  influence  to  rear,  to  strengthen,  and  to  heal.  Yet, 
does  any  one  hesitate  to  put  forth  his  energy  for  wealth,  or 
his  kindness  to  his  children,  to  take  medicine,  or  to  set  a 
bone,  because  all  these  will  be  inefficacious  without  the  bless 
ing  of  God  ?  But  in  all  this,  he  is  as  invisible,  and  for  aught 
that  Christianity  teaches  to  the  contrary,  as  truly  efficient,  as 
in  the  work  of  saving  men.  And  against  all  exertion  in  these 
matters,  lie  the  same  objections  that  are  urged  against  efforts 
in  religion. 

Nor  do  we  deem  the  doctrine  that  man  may  be  changed 
suddenly,  and  by  an  influence  originating  from  some  other 
source  than  his  own  mind)  at  variance  with  the  analogy  of 
nature.  "We  have  already  spoken  of  the  fact  that  sudden 
changes  often  take  place  in  the  minds  of  men ;  and  that  it  is 
a  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  that  such  a  change  is  indispen 
sable  to  an  admission  into  heaven.  We  now  proceed  to 
remark,  that  such  revolutions  often  bear  the  marks  of  being 
brought  about  by  an  external,  and  often  an  invisible  agency; 
and  that  there  are  revolutions  where  it  is  not  unphilosophical 
to  ascribe  them  to  the  great  and  eternal  Being  in  the  heavens. 
Changes  of  opinion  are  almost  uniformly  the  result  of  an 
Tor,  r.  r 


74  ESSAYS  AND   KEVIEWS. 

influence  foreign  at  first  to  our  minds.  It  is  the  parent,  the 
friend,  the  advocate,  the  flatterer,  or  the  infidel,  that  has  sug 
gested  the  train  of  thought  which  results  in  an  entire  revolu 
tion  in  our  ways  of  thinking.  It  is  some  external  change  in 
our  business;  some  success  or  disappointment;  some  cutting 
off  our  hopes  by  an  agency  not  our  own;  or  some  sudden 
enlargement  of  the  opportunities  for  successful  effort,  that 
fixes  the  purpose  and  revolutionizes  the  principles  or  the  life. 
Or  it  is  a  voice  from  the  tomb — the  remembered  sentiment 
of  the  now  speechless  dead — that  arrests  the  attention,  and 
transforms  the  character.  Zeno  and  Epicurus  have  thus 
spoken  to  thousands  of  men  in  every  age.  Cicero  in  the 
forum,  and  Plato  in  the  schools,  still  put  forth  an  influence, 
stretching  down  from  age  to  age,  and  in  tongues  unspoken 
by  them  and  unknown.  Voltaire  and  Hume  still  lift  their 
voices,  and  urge  the  young  to  deeds  of  shame  and  crime,  and 
Volney  and  Paine  still  mutter  from  their  graves,  and  beckon 
the  world  to  atheism  and  pollution.  'Man  may  send  an  influ 
ence  round  the  globe,  and  command  it  to  go  from  age  to  age. 
Now,  in  all  these  instances,  the  influence  is  as  foreign,  and  as 
certain,  as  in  any  power  of  God  contemplated  in  revelation. 
To  our  view,  it  is  quite  as  objectionable  as  a  part  of  moral 
government,  that  men  should  thus  dispose  each  other  to  evil, 
and  ultimately  to  ruin,  as  that  GOD  should  incline  them  to  an 
amendment  of  character,  and  a  deliverance  from  the  "ills 
which  flesh  is  heir  to." 

But  how  is  man's  freedom  affected  by  all  this  ?  We  reply, 
equally  in  both  cases,  and  not  at  all  in  either.  Who  ever  felt 
that  he  was  fettered  in  deriving  notions  of  stern  virtue  from 
Seneca,  or  of  profligacy  from  Epicurus  ?  Who  dreams  that 
there  is  any  compulsatory  process  in  listening  to  the  voice 
of  Hume,  or  imbibing  the  sentiments  of  Yolney  ?  Peter  the 
Hermit  poured  the  thousands  of  Europe,  and  almost  emptied 
kingdoms  caparisoned  for  battle,  on  the  plains  of  Asia.  But 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  75 

he  moved  none  against  their  will.  Patrick  Henry  struck  the 
notes  of  freedom,  and  a  nation  responded,  and  were  changed 
from  subjects  of  a  British  king  to  independent  freemen ;  but 
all  were  free  in  renouncing  the  protection  of  the  British  crown, 
and  their  reverence  for  a  British  ruler.  God  influences  count 
less  hosts }  pours  upon  darkened  minds  the  love  of  more  than 
mortal  freedom  ]  opens  upon  the  soul  the  cc  magnificence  of 
eternity,"  and  the  renewed  multitude  treads  the  path  to  life. 
Prompted  to  intense  efforts  by  the  voice  that  calls  to  heaven — . 
as  he  is  who  is  led  by  the  voice  of  his  country  to  the  field  of 
blood,  and  who  is  changed  from  the  peaceful  ploughman  to 
the  soldier  treading  in  the  gore  of  the  slain — they  dream  not 
that  there  is  any  violation  of  their  moral  freedom.  In  all 
these  cases  the  foreign  influence  exerted  (from  whatever 
quarter  it  may  have  come)  has  only  convinced  them  as  to  the 
path  of  duty  and  honour,  and  secured  a  conformity  of  their 
wills  to  that  of  the  unseen  and  foreign  power. 

Nor  does  it  alter  the  case  that  in  regeneration  a  higher 
infmcnce  is  exerted  than  that  of  mere  moral  suasion,  since 
that  influence  operates  in  perfect  conformity  with  the  laws 
of  moral  action  and  the  freedom  of  the  will.  In  all  the  cases 
supposed,  the  mind  acts  equally  under  the  impulse  of  a 
foreign,  unseen  influence ;  and  in  all  these  cases  we  know,  by 
the  testimony  of  consciousness,  that  we  are  equally  free.  Any 
objection,  therefore,  against  the  existence  of  such  an  influence 
in  regeneration,  lies  with  equal  force  against  the  analogy  of 
nature,  in  the  whole  world  of  mind  around  us. 

4.  Religion  affirms  that  G-od  exerts  the  power  which  lie  puts 
forth,  in  pursuance  of  a  plan,  or  purpose,  definitely  fixed 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  It  affirms,  in  as  intelli 
gible  a  form  as  any  doctrine  was  ever  expressed  in  any  of  the 
languages  of  men,  that  in  regard  to  the  putting  forth  of  his 
power  in  saving  sinneis,  there  is  no  chance,  no  hap-hazardj 
that  the  scheme  lay  before  his  eyes  fully ;  and  that  his  acts 


76  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

are  only  Ohe  fitting  up  of  the  plan,  and  were  contemplated  dis 
tinctly  when  Grod  dwelt  alone  in  the  stillness  and  solitude  of 
his  own  eternity.*  If  such  a  doctrine  is  not  revealed,  we 
think  it  impossible  that  it  could  be  revealed  in  any  language ; 
and  we  know  of  no  single  doctrine  that  has  been  more  univer 
sally  conceded  by  infidels  to  be  in  the  Scriptures  ;  none  in  the 
Bible  that  has  been  so  often  brought  forward  among  their 
alleged  reasons  for  rejecting  it  as  a  revelation;  none  that  has 
so  frequently  crossed  the  path  of  wicked  men  and  revealed 
the  secret  rebellion  of  their  hearts ;  none  that  has  called  forth 
so  much  misplaced  ingenuity  from  Socinians,  and  Arminians, 
and  timid  men  who  were  afraid  to  trust  the  government  of  the 
world  in  the  hands  of  its  Maker,  as  if  he  were  not  qualified 
for  universal  empire;  and  none,  therefore,  which  has,  in  our 
view,  such  primci  facie  proof  that  it  is  manifestly  a  doctrine 
of  truth  and  excellence.  But  the  outcry,  it  seems  to  us, 
against  this  doctrine  has  been  altogether  gratuitous  and  un 
wise.  For  who  is  a  stranger  to  the  fact  that,  from  infancy  to 
old  age,  we  are  more  or  less  influenced  by  the  plans  or  piwyoses 
of  others?  The  plan  or  purpose  of  a  parent  may  determine 
almost  every  thing  about  the  destiny  of  a  child.  The  purpose 
to  remove  from  regions  of  pestilence  and  malaria  may  secure 
his  health ;  the  change  from  one  clime  to  another  may  deter 
mine  the  liberty  he  shall  enjoy,  the  measure  of  his  intelli 
gence,  the  profession  he  shall  choose,  and  ultimately  his  doom 
here  and  hereafter.  Nay,  the  parent's  plan  may  fix  the  very 
college  where  he  shall  study;  the  companions  he  shall  choose; 
the  law  office,  or  the  seminary  where  he  shall  prepare  for  pro 
fessional  life ;  and,  finally,  every  thing  which  may  establish 
his  son  in  the  world.  So  the  plan  of  the  infidel  is  successful 
in  corrupting  thousands  of  the  young ;  the  purpose  of  Howard 


*  Eph.  i.  4,  5;    Rom.  viii.  29,  30;   ix.  15,  16,  18,  21:   John  xvii.   2  ; 
2  Thess.  ii.  13 ;  John  vi.  37-30 ;  2  Tim.  i.  9. 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  77 

secured  the  welfare  of  thousands  of  prisoners ;  the  determina 
tion  of  Washington  resulted  in  the  independence  of  his  coun 
try.  In  all  these,  and  ten  thousand  other  cases,  there  is  a 
plan  formed  by  other  Icings  in  respect  to  us  which  finally 
enters  as  a  controlling  element  into  our  destiny.  If  it  be  said 
that  they  all  leave  us  free,  so  we  say  of  the  decrees  of  God, 
that  we  have  a  like  consciousness  of  freedom.  In  neither 
case  does  the  foreign  purpose  cripple  or  destroy  our  freedom. 
In  neither  case  does  it  make  any  difference  whether  the  plan 
was  formed  an  hour  before  the  act,  or  has  stood  fixed  for  ages. 
All  that  could  bear  on  our  freedom  would  be  the  fact  that  the 
purpose  was  previous  to  the  deed — a  circumstance  that  does 
not  alter  the  act  itself,  whether  the  decree  be  formed  by  our 
selves,  by  other  men,  or  by  God. 

But  we  remark,  further,  that  it  is  perfectly  idle  to  object  to 
the  fact  that  a  plan  or  decree  is  contemplated  in  revelation ; 
and  that  God  should  confer  benefits  on  some  individuals  which 
are  withheld  from  others.  Did  any  man,  in  his  senses,  ever 
dream  that  the  race  are  in  all  respects  on  an  equality  ?  Has 
there  ever  been  a  time  when  one  man  has  had  just  as  much 
health  as  another  j  when  one  has  been  as  rich  as  another,  or 
as  much  honoured  ?  To  talk  of  the  perfect  equality  of  men, 
is  one  of  the  most  unmeaning  of  all  affirmations  respecting  the 
world.  God  has  made  differences,  is  still  making  them,  and 
will  continue  to  do  so.  The  very  framework  of  society  is 
organized  on  such  a  principle  that  men  cannot  be  all  equal. 
Even  if  the  scheme  of  modern  infidelity  should  be  successful — • 
if  all  society  should  be  broken  up,  and  all  property  be  meted 
out  in  specific  dollars  and  cents  to  the  idle  and  the  indus 
trious  alike,  and  every  man  should  lose  his  interest  in  his  own 
wife  and  daughter,  and  they  should  become  the  common  inhe 
ritance  of  the  world,  and  all  law  should  be  at  an  end, — if  this 
scheme  should  go  into  disastrous  accomplishment,  what  prin 
ciple  of  perpetuity  could  be  devised  ?  Who  knows  not  that 

7* 


78  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

such  a  chaotic  mass  would  settle  down  into  some  kind  of  order, 
and  rnen  be  put  in  possession  again  of  property,  and  some 
of  the  benefits  of  social  life  be  again  restored  ?  Man  might 
better  attempt  to  make  all  trees  alike,  and  all  hills  plains,  and 
all  fountains  of  the  same  dimensions,  than  to  attempt  to  level 
society,  and  bring  the  race  into  entire  equality.  To  the 
end  of  time  it  will  be  true  that  some  will  be  poor  while 
others  are  rich ;  that  some  will  be  sick  while  others  are 
well;  that  some  will  be  endowed  with  gigantic  intellects, 
and  enriched  with  ancient  and  modern  learning,  while  others 
will  pine  in  want,  or  walk  the  humble  but  not  ignoble  vale 
of  obscurity. 

Now  we  might  as  well  object  to  this  fixed  economy  of  things 
as  to  that  which  affirms  that  God  dispenses  the  blessings  of 
redemption  according  to  his  good  pleasure.  If  God  may 
confer  one  blessing  on  one  individual  which  he  withholds  from 
another,  we  ask  why  he  may  not  be  a  sovereign  also  in  the 
dispensation  of  other  favours  ?  We  ask  what  principle  of  jus 
tice  and  goodness  is  violated,  if  he  imparts  penitence  and  faith 
to  one  individual,  that  is  not  violated  also  if  he  gives  him 
health,  while  another  pines  in  sickness  ?  We  ask  with  em 
phasis,  where  is  there  more  of  partiality  in  giving  the  Chris 
tian's  hope  to  Brainerd  or  Martyn,  than  there  is  in  giving 
great  talents  to  Newton  or  great  wealth  to  Croesus  ?  And  we 
put  it  to  the  sober  thoughts  of  those  who  are  so  fond  of  repre 
senting  the  doctrine  that  God  bestows  special  grace  on  one, 
and  not  on  another,  as  unjust,  tyrannical,  and  malignant, 
whether  they  are  not  lifting  their  voice  against  the  manifest 
analogy  of  nature,  and  all  the  facts  in  the  moral  and  material 
world  ?  We  ask  such  a  man  to  tread  the  silent  streets  of  one 
city  where  the  pestilence  spreads  its  desolations,  and  then 
another  filled  with  the  din  of  business,  and  flushed  with  health 
and  gain;  to  go  through  one  land  and  see  the  fields  smile 
with  golden  grain,  and  rich  with  the  vine  and  the  orange,  or 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  79 

fragrant  with  aroma-tics,  and  then  through  another  where  the 
heavens  are  brass,  and  the  earth  dust,  and  every  green  thing 
withers,  and  every  man  weeps  while  the  horrors  of  famine 
stare  him  in  the  face ;  to  go  amid  one  people  and  hear  the 
clangor  of  arms,  or  another  and  see  the  squalidness  of  poverty, 
or  another  and  see  every  river  studded  with  villages,  and 
every  village  pointing  its  spire  to  heaven,  and  universal  peace 
in  all  its  borders,  and  education  diffusing  its  blessings  there — 
such  observers  we  ask  to  tell  us  whether  the  destiny  of  all 
men  is  equal,  and  why  in  religion  God  may  not  do  as  he  does 
in  respect  to  health,  to  freedom,  and  to  law  ? 

We  go  further.  We  affirm  that  unless  this  doctrine  of  elec 
tion  were  found  in  the  Scriptures,  the  scheme  would  be  taken 
out  from  all  the  analogy  of  the  world.  No  man  could  recog 
nise  a  feature  of  the  plan  on  which  God  actually  governs  the 
universe,  unless  he  found  there  the  distinct  affirmation  that 
God  had  "  chosen  us  in  Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world/'  and  that  it  is  "  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him 
that  runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy."  The  system 
of  conferring  favours  as  he  pleases,  of  giving  wealth,  and 
vigour,  and  talent,  and  success,  is  so  much  a  matter  of  sove 
reignty,  and  the  secret  who  shall  possess  these  endowments  is 
so  completely  lodged  in  his  bosom,  that  any  scheme,  to  be 
conformed  to  the  constitution  and  course  of  nature,  must 
recognise  this  great  principle,  or  we  are  shut  up  to  the  alter 
native  that  the  present  doings  of  God  are  wrong,  or  the  consti 
tution  of  nature  one  of  decisive  evil.  To  us  it  seems,  there 
fore,  that  they  strike  a  blow  of  no  ordinary  violence  and 
boldness,  who  denounce  the  purposes  of  God  in  the  Bible  as 
dark,  partial,  and  malignant.  Nor  can  we  conceive  a  more 
rude  assault  on  the  whole  framework  of  things,  than  the 
popular  scheme  which  denies  that  God  has  any  purposes  of 
special  mercy,  and  that  he  confers  any  spiritual  blessings  on 
one  which  he  does  not  on  all, — or,  in  other  words,  which 


80  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

attempts  to  separate  the  scheme  of  redemption  from  the  whole 
analogy  of  things  actually  carried  on  in  the  world. 

But  on  this  point  the  entire  movement  of  the  world  bears 
the  marks  of  being  conducted  according  to  a  plan.  We  defy 
a  man  to  lay  his  finger  on  a  fact  which  has  not  such  a  relation 
to  other  facts  as  to  show  that  it  is  part  of  a  scheme — and  if 
of  a  scheme,  then  of  a  purpose  formed  beforehand.  Alexander 
the  Great,  in  the  vigour  of  life,  and  in  the  full  career  of  con 
quest,  was  cut  off  by  the  act  of  God.  Julian  the  Apostate,  in 
the  same  regions  found  also  an  early  death,  and  gigantic  plans 
were  arrested  by  the  hand  of  God  with  reference  to  other  great 
purposes  in  the  liberty  or  religion  of  man.  Napoleon  met  the 
mighty  arm  of  God  in  the  snows  of  the  North,  and  the  vast 
purpose  of  his  life  was  defeated  by  a  purpose  superior  to  his 
own.  In  the  midst  of  daring  schemes,  man  often  falls.  God 
wields  the  dart  to  strike  in  an  unusual  manner,  and  the  victim 
dies.  He  falls  in  with  the  great  plans  of  the  Deity,  meets 
snows,  or  lightnings,  or  burning  heats,  or  piercing  colds  that 
come  round  by  the  direction  of  the  Governor  of  the  world,  and 
the  man  sinks  and  his  plans  give  way  to  the  higher  purposes 
of  the  Almighty. 

Now  we  know  that  at  any  particular  stage  of  this  process 
we  could  not  discover  that  there  was  a  plan  or  a  scheme.  And 
we  know  also  that  all  the  objections  to  such  a  scheme  result 
from  looking  at  single  portions  of  the  plan, — parts  dissociated 
from  the  whole.  In  this  world  we  think  there  is  this  uni 
versal  principle  to  be  discovered — APPARENT  IRREGULARITY, 
RESULTING  IN  ULTIMATE  ORDER.  During  any  one  of  the 
six  days  of  creation  we  should  scarcely  have  seen  even  the 
outlines  of  the  world  that  ultimately  started  up.  Fix  the  eye 
on  any  single  hour  of  the  state  of  the  embryo,  the  egg,  or  the 
chrysalis,  and  who  would  suppose  there  was  any  plan  or  pur 
pose  with  reference  to  the  man  of  godlike  form  and  intelli 
gence;  or  the  beauty  of  the  peacock,  the  speed  of  the  ostrich, 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  81 

the  plaintive  melody  of  the  nightingale,  or  the  gay  colours 
of  the  butterfly  ?  We  might  illustrate  this  fully  by  a  reference 
to  the  process  of  digestion.  "Who  could  suppose,  from  the 
formation  of  the  chyle,  that  there  was  any  thing  like  &  plan 
laid  to  supply  a  red  fluid,  or  to  give  vigour  to  sinews,  or  firm 
ness  to  the  bones  ?  So  in  all  the  works  of  God.  We  are  not 
surprised  that  unthinking  men  have  doubted  whether  God  had 
a  plan  or  decree.  So  unlike  the  termination  is  the  actual 
process,  and  so  little  apparent  reference  is  there  to  such  a  ter 
mination,  that  we  are  not  amazed  that  men  start  back  at  the 
annunciation  of  a  decree.  The  truth  is,  that  God  has  laid  the 
process  of  his  plan  and  decrees  much  deeper  than  his  common 
acts.  They  require  more  patient  thought  to  trace  them — • 
they  are  more  remote  and  abstruse — and  they  cannot  be  seen 
without  embracing  at  once  the  commencement  and  termina 
tion,  and  the  vast  array  of  improbable  media  by  which  the 
result  is  to  be  secured.  Yet  to  deny  that  God  has  a  plan ; 
that  his  plan  may  be  expressed  by  the  vtmdi  purpose  or  decree, 
is  as  absurd  as  to  deny  that  the  embryo  is  formed  with 
reference  to  the  future  man,  or  the  chyle  to  future  blood, 
muscles,  and  bones.  Who,  in  looking  upon  a  complicated 
piece  of  machinery,  would  suppose  that  a  plan  was  in  operation 
tending  to  the  manufacture  of  cloth,  or  the  propelling  of 
vessels,  or  the  minuter  works  of  art  ?  What  strikes  the  eye 
is  a  collection  of  wheels  moving  without  apparent  order.  Two 
wheels  shall  be  beside  each  other  moving  in  contrary  direc 
tions  ;  yet  all  shall  ultimately  combine  to  the  production  of 
the  contemplated  result.  Thus  move  the  events  of  the  world 
— and  so  apparently  irregular  and  unharmonious,  but  ulti 
mately  fixed  and  grand,  are  the  ways  of  God.  As  in  a  rapid, 
swollen  stream,  while  the  current  rolls  onward,  here  and 
there  may  be  observed  in  the  heaving  waters  a  small  portion 
that  seems  to  be  setting  in  a  contrary  direction — an  eddy  that 
revolves  near  the  shore  or  that  fills  the  vacancy  made  by  some 


82  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

projecting  tree  or  neck  of  land,  yet  all  setting  towards  the 
ocean ;  so  roll  on  the  great  events  in  God's  moral  and  material 
universe — setting  onwards  toward  eternity  in  furtherance  of  a 
plan;  awful,  grand,  benevolent. 

A  large  field  is  still  open  on  which  we  can  make  but  a  pass 
ing  remark — we  mean  the  analogy  of  the  laws  of  Christianity 
to  those  suggested  by  the  constitution  and  course  of  nature. 
If  our  remarks  in  the  former  part  of  this  article  were  correct, 
then  it  is  fair  to  expect  that  religion  would  reveal  such  a  set 
of  laws  as  would  be  in  accordance  with  the  course  of  nature ; 
that  is,  such  as  the  actual  order  of  events  would  show  to  be 
conducive  to  the  true  interest  and  welfare  of  man.  We  think 
it  could  be  shown  that  the  actual  process  of  things  has  con 
ducted  mankind,  after  the  shedding  of  much  blood,  and  after 
many  toils  of  statesmen  and  sages,  to  just  the  set  of  rules 
which  are  revealed  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to  regu 
late  human  conduct.  And  it  would  be  no  uninteresting 
speculation  to  inquire  into  the  changes  in  opinions  and  laws 
suggested  by  the  history  of  events  among  nations,  to  see  how 
one  set  of  enactments  struck  out  by  the  toils  of  some  philo 
sopher  and  applied  by  some  moralist  or  statesman,  were  perse 
vered  in  until  set  aside  by  some  opposing  event  in  the  govern 
ment  of  God,  and  exchanged  for  a  better  system — for  one 
more  in  accordance  with  the  course  of  nature — until  the  revo 
lutions  of  centuries  have  brought  men  to  the  very  laws  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  profoundest  wisdom  has  been  ascertained 
to  be  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  receive  the 
law  from  his  lips.  We  might  remark  on  the  law  of  theft  in 
LacedcEmon ;  on  the  views  in  relation  to  rapine  and  war;  on 
the  seclusion  from  the  world  which  guided  the  Essene  of 
Judea,  and  the  monk  of  the  early  and  Middle  Ages ;  on  the 
indulgence  of  passion,  recommended  by  the  Epicureans ;  on 
the  annihilation  of  sensibility,  the  secret  of  happiness  among 
the  Stoics;  on  the  law  of  universal  selfishness,  the  panacea 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  83 

of  all  human  ills  recommended  by  infidelity  •  and  on  the  laws 
of  honour  that  have  guided  so  many  men  to  fields  of  disgrace 
and  blood,  and  filled  so  many  dwellings  with  weeping.  In  all 
the  different  codes,  we  think  we  could  show  that  the  course  of 
nature  has  ultimately  driven  men  from  one  set  of  laws  to 
another,  from  one  experiment  to  another,  until  every  scheme 
terminated  in  its  abandonment,  or  in  shaping  itself  to  the 
peculiar  laws  of  the  Bible.  But  on  this  point,  which  is  capa 
ble  of  very  ample  illustration,  we  can  do  no  more  than  simply 
point  out  the  principle,  and  leave  the  reader  to  pursue  the 
subject  for  himself. 

We  now  take  our  leave  of  the  Analogy  of  Butler.  We 
have  endeavoured  to  state  the  nature  of  the  argument  on 
which  it  rests.  We  would  say,  in  conclusion,  that  it  is  one 
of  easy  and  universal  application.  We  know  of  no  argument 
that  is  so  potent  to  still  the  voice  of  unbelief  in  the  heart — to 
silence  every  objection  to  all  the  doctrines  of  Christianity — or 
to  subdue  the  soul  to  a  humble,  reverential  belief,  that  the 
God  of  creation  is  the  God  of  redemption ;  and  that  he  who 
clothes  the  sunbeam  with  light,  and  the  flower  with  its  beauty, 
is  the  same  All-present  Being  that  goes  forth  to  the  grander 
work  of  delivering  the  soul  from  sin.  As  God  will  continue  the 
process  of  his  government,  as  he  will  make  the  genial  shower 
to  rise  and  fertilize  the  earth,  as  he  will  clothe  the  hills  and 
vales  with  verdure  and  beauty,  despite  of  all  the  blasphemies 
of  men ;  as  he  will  cause  new  flowers  to  spring  forth,  however 
many  the  foot  of  hard-hearted  man  may  crush,  and  as  he  will 
cause  the  glory  of  the  material  system  to  roll  on  from  age  to 
age,  in  spite  of  all  the  opposition  and  malice  of  devils  and 
men,  so,  we  believe,  he  will  also  cause  this  more  glorious 
system  to  ride  triumphantly  through  the  earth,  and  to  shed  its 
blessings  on  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  Man  can  triumph 
over  neither.  They  are  based  on  the  solid  rock.  The  plans 
of  men  reach  them  not.  Parallel  systems  of  providence  and 


84  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

redemption,  liable  to  the  same  objections,  and  presenting  the 
same  beauties,  testify  that  they  have  come  from  the  same 
God,  and  are  tending  to  the  same  high  development. 

We  are  of  the  number  of  those  who  do  not  shrink  from 
avowing  the  opinion,  that  the  system  of  Christianity,  as  it  has 
been  held  in  the  world,  is  capable  of  progressive  improve 
ments  in  the  mode  of  its  exhibition.  This  system,  in  the 
mind  of  the  Son  of  God,  was  complete,  and  was  so  given  to 
mankind.  But  we  think  that  the  world  has  availed  itself 
fully  of  the  scheme.  No  earthly  being  ever  yet  so  well  un 
derstood  the  laws  of  the  mind  as  the  Son  of  God ;  and  the 
system  as  held  by  him  was  adapted  to  the  true  nature  of 
created  spirits,  and  to  the  regular  course  of  things.  But 
Christianity  has  often  been  attached  to  schemes  of  mental  and 
moral  philosophy  as  remote  from  the  true  one  as  "from  the 
centre  thrice  to  the  utmost  pole/'  Now,  the  improvement 
which  we  anticipate,  is,  that  men  will  consent  to  lay  aside 
their  systems  of  mental  science ;  and  with  them,  much  also 
of  the  technicalities  of  their  theology — and  suffer  religion  to 
speak  in  the  words  expressive  of  what  Locke  calls  "large, 
round-about  sense ;"  that  they  will  be  willing  to  inquire,  first, 
what  philosophy  religion  teaches,  and  then  ask,  if  they  choose, 
whether  that  philosophy  is  to  be  found  in  the  schools.  Could 
all  the  obstructions  in  the  way  of  correct  mental  philosophy 
and  natural  science  be  at  one  removed,  we  have  no  doubt  that 
the  Christian  system  would  be  seen  to  fall  at  once  into  the 
scheme  of  material  and  mental  things.  Now  this  is  the  kind 
of  improvement  which  we  expect  will  take  place  in  theology. 
An  analogy  could  never  be  established  between  theology  as  it 
has  been  held,  and  the  common  course  of  events.  Religion,  as 
it  has  been  often  presented,  has  been  unlike  all  other  things — 
so  cold,  distant,  unliving,  and  formal,  that  we  wonder  not  that 
men  who  have  had  tolerably  correct  notions  of  the  laws  of  the 
mind  and  of  facts,  should  have  shrunk  from  it;  nor  do  we 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  85 

wonder  that  the  preaching  of  no  small  number  of  ministers 
should  have  been  fitted  to  make  men  Arminians,  Socinians,  or 
Deists. 

We  have  sat  down  in  pensive  grief,  when  we  heard  from 
the  lips  of  tyros  in  divinity  (as  the  first  message  which  they 
bring  us)  solemn  and  measured  denunciations  of  reason  in 
religion.  We  have  asked  ourselves,  whence  the  herald  has 
derived  his  commission  to  commence  an  assault  on  what  Las 
been  implanted  in  the  bosom  of  man  by  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty  ?  Has  the  book  which  he  holds  in  his  hand  told 
him  to  utter  unfeeling  and  prescriptive  maledictions  on  all 
just  views  of  mental  operations?  Has  God  commissioned 
him  to  summon  the  world  to  a  rejection  of  all  the  lessons 
taught  by  the  investigations  of  the  mind,  the  decisions  of 
conscience,  and  the  course  of  events  ?  Is  the  God  who  has 
hitherto  been  thought  to  be  the  God  of  creation  and  provi 
dence,  coming  forth  in  the  old  age  and  decrepitude  of  the 
world,  to  declare  that  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil 
society,  the  judicial  inflictions  of  his  hand,  the  lessons  taught 
us  in  parental  and  filial  intercourse,  and  in  the  reasonings 
of  sober  men  with  the  eye  upturned  to  heaven,  have  all  been 
delusive ;  and  that  the  new  revelation  is  to  set  at  defiance  all 
that  has  been  ascertained  to  be  law,  and  all  that  the  world  has 
supposed  to  be  just  maxims  in  morals  ?  We  marvel  not  that 
thinking  men  shrink  from  such  sweeping  denunciations.  Nor 
do  we  remember  that  the  ministry  is  often  despised,  the  sanc 
tuary  forsaken,  and  the  day-dreams  of  any  errorist  adopted, 
who  professes  to  give  them  proper  place  to  the  inferences 
drawn  from  the  government  of  God. 

It  is  a  maxim,  we  think,  which  should  rule  in  the  hearts 
of  Christian  men,  and 

"  Most  of  all  in  man  that  ministers, 
And  serves  the  altar/' 

that  the  world  is  to  be.  convinced,  that  Christians  are  not  of 

VOL.  I.  8 


86  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

necessity  fools.  And,  in  doing  this,  we  care  not  bow  much 
of  sound  reason,  and  true  philosophy,  and  the  analogies  of 
nature,  are  brought  into  the  sacred  desk.  The  truth  is,  that 
religion  sets  up  its  jurisdiction  over  all  the  operations  of  mind. 
And  the  truth  is,  also,  that  those  who  have  done  most  to  vilify 
and  abuse  the  use  of  reason,  have  been  the  very  men  who 
have  incorporated  the  most  of  false  philosophy  into  their  own 
systems  of  divinity.  It  is  not  to  be  concealed,  that  the  most 
ardent  desire  of  the  enemies  of  religion  is  that  its  ministers 
and  friends  should  deal  out  fierce  denunciations  against  reason, 
and  set  up  the  system  of  Christianity  as  something  holding  in 
fixed  defiance  all  the  discoveries  of  knowledge  and  all  the 
schemes  of  philosophy.  More  than  half  the  work  of  Atheism 
is  done,  if  the  world  can  be  persuaded  that  Christianity  con 
templates  the  surrender  of  the  deductions  of  reason,  and  the 
course  of  the  world,  into  the  hands  of  infidel  philosophers; 
nor  do  we  know  a  more  successful  artifice  of  the  enemy  of 
man,  than  the  schemes  which  have  been  devised  to  effect  such 
a  disjunction,  and  to  set  up  the  Christian  plan  as  something 
that  stands  in  irreconcilable  opposition  to  the  course  of  nature 
and  the  just  process  of  thought. 

But,  if  the  view  which  we  have  taken  of  this  matter  is  cor 
rect,  then  all  the  works  of  God,  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  and 
far  on  beyond,  are  in  strict  accordance  with  the  Christian 
scheme.  One  set  of  laws  rules  the  whole ;  one  set  of  princi 
ples  reigns  everywhere;  one  grand  system  of  administration 
is  going  forward.  Apparent  differences  between  the  Christian 
scheme  and  the  course  of  events,  are  daily  becoming  rarer,  and 
soon  the  whole  will  be  seen  to  harmonize.  The  laws  of  mental 
action  are  becoming  better  understood,  and  are  found  to  coincide 
more  and  more  with  the  plain,  unperverted  declarations  of  the 
Bible.  The  laws  of  nations  are  growing  more  mild,  tender, 
bloodless,  and  forbearing.  The  great  principles  of  morals  are 
laying  aside  the  ferocity  of  the  darker  ages,  disrobing  them- 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  87 

selves  of  the  principles  of  the  Goth  and  the  Vandal,  and 
returning  more  and  more  to  the  simplicity  of  primeval  life — 
to  the  principles  of  Abraham,  "  that  beauteous  model  of  an 
Eastern  prince,  of  David  the  warrior-poet,  of  Daniel  the  far- 
sighted  premier,  of  Paul  the  mild,  yet  indomitable  apostle, 
and  of  Jesus  the  meek  Son  of  God." 

We  anticipate  that  the  order  of  events,  and  the  deductions 
of  reason,  and  the  decisions  of  the  gospel,  will  yet  be  found 
completely  to  tally ;  so  that  Christianity  shall  come  armed 
with  the  double  power  of  having  been  sustained  by  miracles 
when  first  promulgated,  and  when  appearing  improbable,  and 
of  falling  in  at  last  with  all  the  proper  feelings,  and  just  views 
of  the  world.  As  one  evidence  that  the  world  is  hastening 
to  such  a  juncture  we  remark,  that  the  views  entertained  of 
moral  character  have  undergone  already  a  transformation. 
tl  What  mother  would  now  train  her  sons  after  the  example 
of  Achilles,  and  Hector,  and  Agamemnon,  and  Ulysses  ?" 
Other  models,  more  like  the  Son  of  God,  are  placed  before 
the  infant  mind.  Society  in  its  vast  revolutions  has  brought 
itself  into  accordance,  in  this  respect,  with  the  New  Testament. 
And  we  cannot  doubt,  that  though  the  affairs  of  the  church 
and  the  world  may  yet  flow  on  in  somewhat  distinct  channels, 
yet  they  will  finally  sink  into  complete  and  perfect  harmony ; 
like  two  streams  rising  in  distant  hills,  and  rendering  fertile 
different  vales,  yet  at  last  flowing  into  the  bosom  of  the  same 
placid  and  beautiful  ocean.  Men  will  go  on  to  make  experi 
ments  in  geology,  and  chemistry,  and  philosophy,  in  order  to 
oppose  the  Bible,  till  scheme  after  scheme  shall  be  abandoned. 
They  will  frame  theories  of  mental  science,  until  they  arrive 
at  the  scheme  of  the  New  Testament.  They  will  devise  modes 
of  alleviating  misery,  until  they  fall  on  the  very  plan  sug 
gested  more  than  two  thousand  years  before  them.  And 
they  will  form  and  abandon  codes  of  morals,  until  they  shall 
come  at  last,  in  their  international  and  private  affairs,  to  the 


88  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

moral  maxims  of  the  New  Testament — and  the  world  shall 
arrive  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  highest  wisdom  is  to  sit  down 
like  children  at  the  feet  of  the  Son  of  God. 

And  here  we  conclude  by  saying,  that  the  men  who  pro 
mulgated  this  system  were  Galilean  peasants  and  fisher 
men.  They  had  indubitably  little  learning.  They  were 
strangers  to  the  doctrines  of  the  schools,  to  ancient  and 
modern  science,  to  the  works  of  nature  and  of  art.  No  infidel 
can  prove  that  they  knew  more  than  the  science  necessary  for 
the  skilful  management  of  a  fishing-boat,  or  the  collection  of 
taxes.  And  yet  they  have  devised  the  only  scheme  which 
turns  out  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  course  of  nature  :  a 
scheme  which  has  survived  the  extinction  of  most  others  pre 
valent  in  their  day,  a  system  in  advance  still, — no  one  can 
tell  how  much, — even  of  our  own  age.  Now  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact,  that  in  the  progress  of  discovery  hitherto,  no  man 
has  gone  much  in  advance  of  his  own  generation.  Society 
and  science  work  themselves  into  a  state  for  the  discoveries 
which  actually  take  place,  and  hence  it  happens  that,  about 
the  same  time,  the  same  invention  is  often  made  on  both  sides 
of  the  globe.  A  controversy  still  exists  respecting  the  dis 
covery  of  the  art  of  printing,  and  gunpowder,  the  application 
of  steam,  the  invention  of  the  quadrant,  and  many  of  the  im 
provements  in  chemistry.  We  ask,  then,  how  it  has  happened 
that  these  Galileans  stepped  over  all  the  science  of  their  own 
age  j  established  a  system  in  strict  accordance  with  the  course 
of  nature  ]  disclosed  elementary  principles  of  morals,  entirely 
unknown  to  the  philosophy  of  that  age,  and  arrived  at,  in  the 
history  of  man,  only  by  long  and  painful  experiments  of  many 
thousand  years  !  Why,  let  the  skeptic  tell  us,  has  not  science 
struck  out  principle  after  principle,  that  could  long  since 
have  been  organized  into  a  system  which  should  accord 
with  the  constitution  and  course  of  nature  ?  To  our  minds, 
the  greatest  of  all  miracles  would  be,  that  unaided  and  un- 


BUTLER'S  ANALOGY.  89 

inspired  fishermen  should  have  projected  such  a  scheme  of 
Christianity. 

Revealed  religion,  then,  is  in  accordance  with  the  course  of 
nature.  To  reason  against  or  reject  it,  on  the  principles  com 
monly  adopted  by  infidels,  is  to  call  in  question  the  whole 
system  of  things  around  us.  Nor  will  it  answer  any  valuable 
purpose  to  laugh  or  mock  at  it.  "  There  is  argument  neither 
in  drollery  nor  in  jibe."  If,  in  spite  of  this  striking  accord 
ance  with  the  course  of  nature,  it  can  be  proved  false,  let  the 
evidence  be  fairly  brought  forward.  Let  its  miracles  be  set 
aside.  Let  its  prophecies  be  shown  not  to  have  been  uttered. 
And  then  let  it  be  shown  Jioio  it  is  that  such  a  system  has 
originated  from  such  a  source — a  system  which  has  bowed  the 
intellects  of  such  men  as  Bacon,  and  Locke,  and  Boyle,  and 
Hale,  and  Boorhave,  and  Newton,  and  Edwards,  and  Dwight. 
But  if  the  demonstration  cannot  be  made  out, — if  a  single 
doubt  remains,  it  will  not  do  to  deride  this  religion.  It  will 
no  more  do  to  meet  the  announcement  of  hell  with  a  jeer, 
than  to  stand  and  mock  at  convulsions,  fevers,  and  groans; — 
nor  should  men  laugh  at  the  judgment  any  more  than  at  the 
still  tread  of  the  pestilence,  or  the  heavings  of  the  earthquake; 
— nor  will  it  be  at  all  more  the  dictate  of  wisdom  to  contemn 
the  provisions  of  redemption  than  to  mock  the  pitying  eye  of 
a  father,  or  to  meet  with  contempt  the  pensive  sigh  of  a 
mother  over  our  sufferings,  or  to  jeer  at  the  physician  who 
comes  reverently,  if  it  may  be,  to  put  back  from  us  the  heavy, 
pressing  hand  of  God. 


8» 


90  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

II. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1832.] 

The  Christian  Ministry,  with  an  Inquiry  into  the  Cause  of  its 
Inefficiency.  By  the  Rev.  CHARLES  BRIDGES,  B.A.,  Vicar 
of  Old  Newton,  Suffolk,  and  Author  of  "Exposition  of 
Psalm  cxix."  New  York :  Jonathan  Leavitt.  Boston : 
Crocker  and  Brewster,  1831.  In  two  vols.,  12mo. 

THIS  work  has  been  republished  in  this  country,  with  a 
recommendatory  notice  by  the  Bev.  Dr.  Milnor  of  New  York. 
"We  invite  the  attention  particularly  of  our  clerical  readers  to 
it,  as  a  practical  work  of  high  value  on  the  duties  of  their 
calling.  It  is  plain,  simple,  and  thorough  in  its  character; 
evidently  the  production  of  a  man  ardently  attached  to  the 
ministry  •  abounding  in  scriptural  views  of  the  nature  of  this 
great  office ;  and  illustrating  those  views,  in  a  full  and  inte 
resting  manner,  by  the  sentiments  of  eminent  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  and  by  pertinent  anecdotes  from  the  lives  of  distin 
guished  pastors  and  preachers.  It  is  not  such  a  work,  indeed, 
as  we  should  expect  from  those  profound  British  thinkers, 
Foster  and  Hall ;  but  it  is  such  a  book  as  we  most  love  to  pe 
ruse  in  those  moments  of  care  and  perplexity,  of  doubt  and 
despondency,  when  we  seek  not  for  profound  discussion,  or 
new  views,  but  when  we  wish  for  scriptural  encouragement  in 
our  work,  and  ask  for  the  friendly  aid  and  counsel  of  an  expe 
rienced  pastor,  and  the  voice  of  Christian  friendship  to  cheer 
us  in  the  arduous  toils  of  this  self-denying  office.  To  induce 
our  readers  to  become  possessed  of  a  book  eminently  adapted, 
we  believe,  to  do  good,  we  shall  give  its  outlines  by  recording 
the  titles  of  the  chapters,  and  by  a  single  extract — presenting 


THE   CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  91 

views  which  we  wish  particularly  to  commend  to  the  attention 
of  our  readers,  and  which  may  serve  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
general  style  of  the  work.  The  volume  contains  a  discussion 
of  the  following  subjects  : — General  view  of  the  Christian 
ministry — General  causes  of  the  want  of  success  in  the  Chris 
tian  ministry — Causes  of  ministerial  inefficiency,  connected 
with  our  personal  character — The  public  work  of  the  Christian 
ministry — The  pastoral  work  of  the  Christian  ministry — Re 
collections  of  the  Christian  ministry. 

The  extract  which  we  shall  present  relates  to  habits  of 
study  : 

"  Nor  let  it  be  thought,  that  studious  habits  must  necessarily 
infringe  upon  the  more  active  employment  of  our  work.  What  shall 
we  say  to  the  nine  ponderous  folios  of  Augustine,  and  nearly  the 
same  number  of  Chrysostom, — volumes  not  written  like  Jerome's,  in 
monastic  retirement,  but  in  the  midst  of  almost  daily  preaching  en- 
gagemlnts,  and  conflicting,  anxious,  and  most  responsible  duties, — 
volumes  not  of  light  reading — the  rapid  flow  of  shallow  declamation, 
but  the  results  of  deep  and  well-digested  thinking  ?  The  folios,  also, 
of  Calvin,  the  most  diligent  preacher,*  and  of  Baxter,  the  most  labo 
rious  pastor  of  his  day,  full  of  thought  and  matter,  bearing  the  same 
testimony  to  the  entire  consistency  of  industrious  study  with  devoted 
ministerial  diligence.  The  secret  of  this  efficiency  seems  to  have 
much  consisted  in  a  deep  and  important  sense  of  the  value  of  that 
most  precious  of  all  talents — time,  and  of  an  economical  distribution 
of  its  minutest  particles  for  specific  purposes.  Mr.  Alleine  would 
often  say,  '  Give  me  a  Christian  that  counts  his  time  more  precious 


-:••  « "\Vhat  shall  I  say  of  his  indefatigable  industry,  even  beyond  the 
power  of  nature,  which,  being  paralleled  with  our  loitering,  I  fear  will 
exceed  all  credit?  and  may  be  a  true  object  of  admiration,  bow  his  lean, 
worn,  spent,  and  weary  body  could  possibly  hold  out.  He  read  every  week 
in  the  year  three  divinity  lectures,  and  every  other  week  over  and  above; 
he  preached  every  day,  so  that  (as  Erasmus  says  of  Chrysostom)  I  do  not 
know  whether  more  to  admire  the  indefatigableness  of  the  man,  or  his 
hearers.  Yea,  some  have  reckoned  up  that  his  lectures  were  yearly  one 
hundred  and  eighty-six,  his  sermons  two  hundred  and  eighty-six,  besides 
Thursday  he  sat  in  the  presbytery,"  &c. — Clark's  Lives. 


92  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS 

than  gold.'  Mr.  Cotton  would  express  his  regret  after  a  departure 
of  a  visitor,  'I  had  rather  have  given  this  man  a  handful  of  money, 
than  have  been  kept  thus  long  out  of  my  study.'  Melancthon,  when 
he  had  an  appointment,  expected  not  only  the  hour,  but  the  minute 
to  be  fixed,  that  time  might  not  run  out  in  the  idleness  of  suspense. 
Seneca  has  long  since  taught  us,  that  time  is  the  only  thing  of  which 
'it  is  a  virtue  to  be  covetous.'  And  here  we  should  be  like  the  miser 
with  his  money — saving  it  with  care,  and  spending  it  with  caution. 
It  is  well  to  have  a  book  for  every  spare  hour,  to  improve  what  Boyle 
calls  the  '  parentheses  or  interludes  of  time,  which,  coming  between 
more  important  engagements,  are  wont  to  be  lost  by  most  men,  for 
want  of  a  value  for  them  :  and  even  by  good  men,  for  want  of  skill 
to  preserve  them.  And  since  goldsmiths  and  refiners,'  he  remarks, 
'  are  wont  all  the  year  long  to  save  the  very  sweepings  of  their  shops, 
because  they  may  contain  in  them  some  filings  of  dust  of  those  richer 
metals,  gold  and  silver,  I  see  not  why  a  Christian  may  not  be  as  careful 
not  to  lose  the  fragments  and  lesser  intervals  of  a  thing  incomparably 
more  precious  than  any  metal — time;  especially  when  the  i^prove- 
ment  of  them  by  our  meletetics  may  not  only  redeem  so  many  por 
tions  of  our  life,  but  turn  them  to  pious  uses,  and  particularly  to  the 
great  advantage  of  devotion.'  "  pp.  58-60. 

The  work  is  designed  evidently  for  the  clergy  of  Great 
Britain,  and  particularly  those  of  the  Established  Church. 
Coming  from  the  bosom  of  that  church,  and  designed  for  its 
members,  we  hail  it  as  an  omen  of  great  advancing  good.  We 
regard  it  as  an  indication  of  no  small  progress  toward  a  better 
state  of  things  there,  that  such  a  work  as  this  is  patronized, 
and  that,  in  less  than  five  months,  a  second  edition  has  been 
demanded.  But  though  intended  particularly  for  that  church, 
it  is  adapted  to  Christian  ministers  of  all  denominations. 
Indeed,  it  contemplates  the  work  of  the  ministry  as  it  was 
appointed  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  and,  wherever  read,  it  will 
do  good. 

With  one  thing  we  have  been  particularly  struck  in  its 
perusal,  viz.  that  no  small  part  of  its  illustrations,  and  of  the 
anecdotes  and  authorities  introduced  on  the  subject  of  the 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  93 

ministry,  are  taken  from  this  side  the  ocean.  This  fact  is  a 
voluntary  tribute  to  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans,  which  we 
were  not  quite  prepared  to  expect  from  England,  and  espe 
cially  from  the  bosom  of  the  Established  Church.  As  a  people, 
we  are  young.  We  have  no  established  religion.  We  have 
been  without  ecclesiastical  patronage,  without  the  fostering 
care  of  government,  without  sinecures,  and  without  such  inde 
pendent  provision  for  the  ministry  as  to  give  leisure  for  that 
intellectual  advancement  which  might  be  expected  under  an 
established  religion.  Preachers  in  this  land  are  doomed  to 
toil ;  and  one  of  the  most  laborious  and  active  occupations 
here  is,  without  doubt,  the  Christian  ministry.  It  is  a  tri 
bute  of  which  we  would  speak  with  deep  interest  • — it  is  a 
voice  which  we  desire  all  men  to  hear  in  favour  of  our  free 
institutions,  when  foreigners  turn  their  eyes  to  this  country 
for  illustrations  of  the  true  nature  of  the  pastoral  office,  and 
for  examples  of  self-denying  industry  and  faithfulness  among 
the  heralds  of  salvation.  We  turn  instinctively  fo  our  free 
institutions,  and  look  over  our  history  with  new  gratitude  and 
delight,  to  trace  the  moulding  power  of  their  organization  in 
this  country,  in  forming  the  ministry.  We  ask  ourselves 
whether  the  nature  of  our  institutions  is  fitted  to  give  appro 
priate  beauty  and  largeness  to  the  embassy  which  the  preacher 
bears  ?  And  what  is  the  kind  of  ministry  which  is  best 
adapted  to  our  civil  and  religious  organization,  and  connected 
with  the  preservation  of  our  civil  rights,  and  the  welfare  of 
the  church  of  G-od  ? 

Commending  the  book  which  is  the  occasion  of  our  remarks 
to  the  cordial  notice  of  our  readers,  we  desire,  at  this  interest 
ing  period  of  the  history  of  our  republic,  to  do  as  much  as  in 
us  lies  to  hold  before  our  countrymen  what  we  deem  to  be 
the  appropriate  character  of  this  class  of  men,  and  from  the 
memory  of  the  past,  the  aspect  of  the  present,  and  the  anticipa 
tions  of  the  future,  to  keep  full  in  the  public  eye  a  subject  on 


94  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

which  we  mean  frequently  to  dwell — the  importance  of  an  able 
and  well-educated  clergy. 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  history  of  this  republic 
without  feeling  that  the  whole  of  its  organization  has  been 
such  as  to  give  development  to  the  proper  powers  and  influ 
ence  of  the  Christian  ministry.  From  its  settlement  a  series 
of  events  has  been  in  progress  demanding  profound  wisdom, 
indefatigable  activity,  rich  and  varied  learning,  and  indomit 
able  courage  and  integrity.  Every  one  knows  that  the  whole 
system  of  society  in  New  England  was  framed  under  the  au 
spices  of  the  Christian  religion,  and,  of  course,  under  the 
direction,  in  no  small  degree,  of  those  whose  office  it  was  to 
preach  the  gospel.  Nor  was  it  possible  that  ignorant  or  in 
active  ministers  should  have  been  adapted  to  that  state  of 
things,  or  that  they  could  have  met  the  crises  which  occurred 
in  the  foundation  of  a  mighty  empire.  The  constitution  of  a 
vast  civil  polity  was  to  be  framed.  The  formation  of  churches 
was  an  object  of  deep  solicitude,  and  required  profound  wis 
dom.  Laws  adapted  to  a  new  and  peculiar  community  were 
to  be  enacted.  The  earth  was  to  be  subdued  and  cultivated. 
Morality,  chastity,  industry,  intelligence,  and  order,  were  to 
be  promoted  among  the  people.  The  eye  o.f  the  lawgiver  and 
the  Christian  could  not  but  run  along  future  ages,  and  antici 
pate  the  grandeur  of  a  mighty  Christian  empire.  For  the 
enjoyment  of  freedom,  they  had  sought  the  dreariness  and 
solitude  of  a  vast  wilderness,  and  they  were  conscious  of 
living  to  mould  the  destiny  of  countless  millions. 

Many  would  have  thought  that  to  preach  to  a  handful  of 
people  on  the  shores  of  Plymouth,  to  instruct  the  little  flock 
that  came  across  the  waters,  and  who  were  encountering  all 
the  perils  of  the  wilderness  and  the  privations  of  a  life  in  a 
strange  and  inhospitable  country,  an  ignorant  ministry  would 
have  been  sufficient.  Thus  many  think  now  about  our  Western 
World.  But  our  Puritan  fathers  had  different  conceptions  of 


THE   CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  95 

the  nature  of  this  office.  Profoundly  learned  when  they  came 
to  these  shores,  they  have  been  unequalled  in  this  country 
or  any  other  for  patient  study  and  toil,  even  after  their 
arrival.  Till  within  a  few  years,  there  were  no  men  in  this 
country,  and  scarcely  in  any  other,  who  have  been  so  pro 
foundly  skilled  in  the  Oriental  and  ancient  languages,  or  so 
laborious  in  writing  books,  as  the  men  who  came  first  to 
New  England. 

Here  we  are  happy  to  record  the  high  eulogium  of  a  man 
than  whom  no  one  in  our  country  is  better  qualified  to  speak, 
or  whose  opinions  in  the  literary  and  political  world  have  more 
the  authority  which,  by  common  consent,  has  been  conceded  to 
him  on  the  bench. 

"  They  were  so  fortunate,"  says  Chancellor  Kent,  "  as  to  enjoy  the 
presence  and  guidance  of  one  man  who  had  been  early  initiated  in 
university  learning,  and  proved  to  be  one  of  those  superior  and  de 
cided  characters,  competent  to  give  a  permanent  direction  to  human 
affairs.  No  sage  of  antiquity  was  superior  to  him  in  wisdom,  mode 
ration,  and  firmness  ;  none  equal  to  him  in  the  grandeur  of  his  moral 
character,  and  the  elevation  of  his  devotion.  This  learned  audience 
will  have  perceived  that  I  allude  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker,  whom 
his  distinguished  biographer  has  termed  the  light  of  the  Western 
churches,  and  oracle  of  the  Connecticut  colony."*  "  The  leading  Puritans 
of  New  England,  and  the  great  body  of  Protestant  clergy  everywhere, 
no  less  than  the  fathers  of  the  primitive  church,  were  scholars  of  the 
first  order.  Let  us  take  as  a  sample  from  among  ten  thousand,  the 
Rev.  John  Cotton,  styled  the  father  and  glory  of  Boston.  He  was  ad 
vanced  in  early  life,  by  reason  of  his  great  learning  as  a  scholar,  to 
a  fellowship  in  the  English  University  of  Cambridge.  His  skill  in  the 
Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  languages,  as  well  as  in  textual  divinity, 
was  unrivalled.  His  industry  was  extraordinary.  He  wrote  and 
spoke  Latin  with  ease,  and  with  Ciceronian  eloquence.  He  was  dis 
tinguished  as  a  strict  and  orthodox  preacher,  pre-eminent  among  his 
contemporaries  for  the  sanctity  of  his  character,  and  the  fervour  of 
his  devotion.  He  died,  as  he  had  lived,  in  the  rapturous  belief  that 

*  Address  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  1831.  p.  9. 


96  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

lie  was  in  reality  to  join  in  the  joys  and  worship  of  the  saints  in 
glory."* 

Nor  did  they  deem  any  of  their  acquisitions  to  be  useless  in 
the  wilderness.  One  of  the  first  of  their  measures  was  to 
found  Harvard  College.  Never  did  a  Puritain  conceive  that 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  could  be  fitted;  even  for  the  Western 
wilds,  without  a  long  and  profound  training  in  the  schools. 
Every  idea  which  he  had  of  the  perpetuity  of  liberty  was 
blended  indissolubly  with  the  thought  that  the  ministry  should 
be  profoundly  trained  for  their  work. 

Under  auspices  such  as  these  our  country  rose.  There  are 
few  subjects  from  which  the  mind  less  willingly  departs,  than 
from  the  contemplation  of  that  peculiar  and  wonderful  race 
of  men.  We  feel  that  the  ministers  and  people  of  that  age 
had  been  formed  for  each  other,  and  both  had  been  formed  to 
meet  the  toils  and  hardships  connected  with  the  subjugation 
and  culture  of  the  rocky  soil  to  which  God  directed  them. 
And  though  they  were  a  sect  which  has  been  "  everywhere 
spoken  against,"  yet  their  memorial  is  the  virtue,  the  order, 
the  intelligence,  and  the  piety  of  the  Northern  States,  and  no 
small  part  of  the  results  of  the  effort  to  spread  the  knowledge 
of  the  gospel,  and  religious  freedom,  among  all  the  empires 
of  the  earth. 

It  would  almost  seem  as  if  the  conceptions  of  our  fathers  on 
this  subject,  had  been  formed  by  a  prophetic  anticipation  of 
what  this  republic  is  destined  yet  to  be.  One  can  hardly 
help  reflecting  on  what  might  have  been  the  state  of  things  in 
this  land,  if  they  had  possessed  different  views  respecting  the 
nature  of  the  gospel  ministry.  Had  they  believed  that  an 
ignorant  ministry  would  be  adapted  to  the  New  World ; — had 
they  been  men  of  limited  views,  or  weak  judgment,  or  slender 
learning  and  piety,  these  qualities  would  have  gone  into  all 

*  Address  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  1831.  pp.  25,  26. 


THE    CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  97 

the  veins  and  sinews  of  our  empire.  Had  the  Catholic  placed 
his  foot  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth,  instead  of  the  Puritan,  New 
England  would  have  been  now  what  South  America  is.  Igno 
rance  and  superstition  would  have  spread  over  all  the  hills  and 
vales,  and  the  intellect,  now  so  free,  so  enlightened,  so  manly, 
would  have  been  prostrate  beneath  a  base  and  grovelling  su 
perstition.  We  cannot  but  add,  had  they  possessed  the  views 
which  have  prevailed  among  some  Protestant  denominations 
in  our  country,  in  regard  to  the  Christian  ministry,  those 
views  would  have  done  more  than  all  the  subsequent  efforts 
of  the  statesman  could  have  undone,  to  form  a  wild  and  fanatic 
population,  and  to  shed  over  all  this  nation  the  elements  of 
ignorance  and  misrule. 

It  was  the  glory  of  New  England,  that  her  first  preachers 
were  fitted  to  any  possible  intellectual  or  moral  growth  of  this 
republic.  There  has  not  been,  and  there  will  not  be,  a  state 
of  the  public  mind,  in  which  the  first  preachers  of  New  Eng 
land  would  not  have  been  competent  to  meet  all  that  could  be 
demanded  of  ministers  of  the  gospel.  First  in  industry,  first 
in  toil,  first  in  piety,  they  stood  at  the  head  of  this  republic, 
not  only  as  leading  the  way  to  this  "Western  World,  but  as 
illustrating  most  impressively,  what  America  must  have,  and 
must  be,  if  her  institutions  are  to  be  free ;  if  her  schools  are  to 
flourish ;  if  her  science  and  arts  are  to  be  under  a  mild  and 
wholesome  discipline ;  and  if  her  broad  fields  and  streams  are 
to  continue  to  invite  from  afar  the  stranger,  the  oppressed, 
and  the  fatherless,  to  the  hospitalities  of  freedom,  and  the 
dwelling-place  of  virtue  and  peace.  Our  eyes  delight  to  dwell 
on  the  wonderful  sagacity  of  those  men,  in  foreseeing  what 
our  country  would  demand  in  her  religious  teachers ;  and  upon 
that  stern  and  indomitable  firmness  which  sustained  them  in 
the  perils  of  the  Western  wilderness,  that  we  might  be  blessed 
with  the  labours  of  a  ministry  which  should  blend  all  that  is 
profound  in  learning,  courteous  in  refined  life,  eloquent  in 
Vur..  0 


98  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

persuasion,  bold  in  investigation,  and  mild  and  lovely  in  the 
religion  of  the  Son  of  God.  We  give  humble  and  hearty 
thanks  to  the  great  King  of  Zion,  that  we  are  permitted  to 
look  back  to  an  early  history  like  this.  And  we  cannot  but 
be  struck  here  with  the  indications  in  our  national  infancy, 
that  the  God  of  nations  contemplated  in  the  formation  of  our 
republic  some  gigantic  purpose  respecting  the  future  condi 
tion  of  all  mankind.  Under  what  different  auspices  has  our 
country  risen,  from  those  of  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  even 
the  German,  the  French,  and  the  British  people.  Age  after 
age,  in  all  those  nations,  rolled  away  with  no  such  command 
ing  elements  of  formation  as  we  have  seen  here.  Their  early 
history  was  amid  fables  and  poetry,  and  day-dreams,  and  a 
wild  and  fanciful  mythology ;  and  even  after  the  lapse  of  cen 
turies,  there  has  not  existed  among  any  other  people,  though 
enjoying  all  their  laws,  and  learning,  and  religion,  any  power 
to  mould  advancing  generations,  to  be  compared  with  what 
attended  the  very  first  touch  given  to  the  principles  and  des 
tiny  of  Americans.  Here,  a  sun  rose  bright  and  full  to  shed 
its  beams  all  along  the  path  of  those  who  were  laying  the 
foundation  of  a  mighty  empire ;  there,  millions  toiled  age  after 
age,  in  "  disastrous  twilight,"  and  scarcely  did  centuries  dis 
close  on  their  lands  what  shot  by  one  steady  effulgence, 
from  the  beginning,  across  the  bosom  of  the  dark  Western 
forest. 

The  extraordinary  circumstances  under  which  the  American 
church  has  gone  forward,  have  changed  somewhat  the  views 
of  the  ministry,  and  given  a  new  direction  to  the  minds  of  our 
countrymen.  Our  country  is  fitted  for  enterprise.  Every 
active  power  is  called  into  requisition.  Boundless  Western 
prairies  stretch  out  their  uncultivated  bosoms,  to  be  traversed 
and  tilled  by  civilized  man.  Vast  streams  roll  their  waters  to 
the  oceans,  rising  in  the  interior  of  yet  impenetrated  forests, 
and  laving  by  their  rolling  floods  lands  unequalled  in  fertility 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  99 

on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  or  the  Jordan.  On  the  borders  of 
those  streams,  men  are  invited  to  plant  towns  and  cities;  and 
the  bosoms  of  those  internal  floods  they  seek  to  cover  with 
the  fruits  of  husbandry,  and  the  productions  of  art.  Over 
lands  fertile  beyond  the  conception  of  the  ancient  Roman  and 
the  colonizing  Greek,  still  repose  the  shades  of  a  dark  wilder 
ness,  where  have  not  yet  been  heard  the  axe  of  the  pioneer,  or 
the  song  of  the  ploughman.  But  soon,  those  forests  will  dis 
appear,  and  the  habitations  of  men  will  take  the  place  of  the 
lair,  and  the  cry  of  the  beast  of  prey  give  way  to  the  busy 
scenes  of  commerce,  of  husbandry,  and  of  art.  Never  have 
the  powers  of  a  people  expanded  so  rapidly  as  in  America 
since  the  War  of  Independence.  The  energies  of  the  nation 
were  before  pent  up,  and  confined  to  the  states  that  now  merely 
skirt  the  Atlantic.  Once  free,  American  enterprise  burst  every 
barrier.  The  flood  rolled  westward ;  and  all  the  previous  con 
ceptions  of  political  economists  were  outstripped  by  what  an 
amazed  world  has  seen  to  be  fact,  in  peopling  the  new  hemi 
sphere. 

It  was  impossible  but  that  this  state  of  things  should  affect 
the  ministry.  Men  began  to  inquire,  whether  the  somewhat 
staid  and  leaden  habits  of  the  pulpit  should  not  be  broken  up ; 
whether  the  active  powers  might  not  be  put  to  greater  tension, 
and  gain  an  ascendency  over  the  contemplative  habits  of  our 
fathers ;  and  whether  it  was  not  demanded  that  the  ministry 
should  keep  pace  with  the  state  of  things  that  has  unexpect 
edly  grown  up  around  us.  Rules  which  apply  to  the  fixed 
and  Gothic  habits  of  the  darker  ages,  apply  with  but  little 
force  to  our  own  times.  Guages  with  which  we  could  mea 
sure  the  ministerial  duties  of  other  days,  little  befit  our  own 
country.  We  have,  in  law  and  in  legislation,  broken  up  the 
older  habits  of  thinking  among  men.  We  are  striking  out 
new  modes  of  freedom;  new  tracks  of  thought;  new  measures 
to  be  applied  to  the  capabilities  of  men.  We  arc  forming  a 


100  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

state  of  things,  in  this  republic,  very  mucli  as  if  we  had  nob 
the  memorials  of  past  ages.  The  maxims  of  the  Roman  do 
not  apply  to  us,  for  his  purpose  was  conquest,  and  monuments, 
and  laurels.  We  have  nothing  to  conquer  but  the  sturdy  oaks 
of  our  mountains,  and  the  obstructions  of  our  streams,  and  the 
barriers  to  the  free  access  to  a  soil  given  to  us  fresh  from  the 
hand  of  God.  The  principles  of  the  Greek  have  as  little  ap 
plicability  to  us.  He  adorned  the  stinted  territory  which  God 
gave  him  with  temples,  and  arches,  and  altars,  and  then 
sought  adjacent  lands  where  to  place  the  monuments  of  his 
wisdom,  and  the  proofs  of  his  art, — the  beauteous  forms  which 
the  hands  of  Praxiteles  and  Phidias  taught  to  start  breathing 
from  the  marble.  We  have  no  such  breathing  forms  of  statu 
ary  'y  we  are  not  pent  up  in  a  straitened  territory ;  we  need  not 
seek  other  lands  to  proclaim  our  wisdom,  or  to  deposit  the 
monuments  of  our  art.  Least  of  all  do  the  maxims  of  the 
schools,  the  thoughts  that  have  received  their  forms  beneath 
the  eye  of  monarchs,  and  amid  the  remains  of  Gothic  gran 
deur,  apply  to  us.  We  have  emerged  in  our  learning,  our 
laws,  and  our  religion,  from  the  dark  cells  of  the  monastery, 
and  bid  farewell  to  the  lucubrations  of  the  anchorite.  Man 
stands  here  erect  in  all  the  dignity  of  the  purest  freedom  that 
God  has  ever  conferred  on  mortals.  In  his  habits,  his  reli 
gion,  and  his  laws,  he  has  broken  away  from  the  iron  sceptre 
and  stern  usages  that  tyrannize  over  all  other  men.  This 
change  has  come  into  the  church.  An  unusual  spirit  of  reli 
gious  enterprise  has  marked  the  present  age.  All  former 
habits  are  broken  up ;  and  in  our  religion  as  well  as  in  our 
liberty  and  laws,  we  are  developing  principles  to  which  all 
other  men  have  been  strangers.  Every  thing  is  laid  bare 
to  this  spirit  of  active  exertion.  Every  opinion  which  has 
hitherto  been  held  sacred  among  men,  is  to  be  subjected  to  the 
test  of  a  new  investigation.  The  result  of  this  active  state 
of  things  will  be,  probably,  like  that  of  applying  the  fires 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  101 

of  the  compound  blowpipe  to  mineral  substances.  What  shall 
be  found  to  abide  the  test  of  this  scrutiny  may  be  regarded  as 
safe  from  the  investigations  of  future  ages  of  men.  What 
shall  be  dissipated  or  converted  into  dross,  however  long 
it  may  have  been  venerated,  and  however  sacred  the  names 
that  have  been  applied  to  it;  will  hereafter  be  rejected  and 
forgotten. 

Now,  to  many  pious  and  thinking  men,  it  has  become  a 
matter  of  deep  deliberation,  whether,  in  this  state  of  things,  it 
is  proper  to  occupy  eight  or  ten  of  the  most  vigorous  years 
of  life  in  the  mere  training  of  the  ministry  for  future  labour. 
It  has  been  made  a  question  whether  it  were  not  best  to  ab 
stract  a  large  part  of  these  years  from  the  college  and  the 
seminary,  to  be  employed  in  the  active  business  of  winning 
souls  to  Christ.  And  especially  has  this  been  pressed  with 
great  weight  on  the  mind,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
whole  process  of  education  is  expensive ;  when  there  are,  per 
haps,  not  more  than  seven  millions  of  our  population  who  are 
in  any  tolerable  way  supplied  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
and  when  almost  the  entire  Pagan  and  Mohammedan  world  is 
open  for  the  speedy  and  rapid  propagation  of  Christianity, 
if  more  were  ready  to  bear  to  them  the  message  of  life.  It  is 
not  wonderful,  therefore,  that  the  sentiments  of  men  on  the 
subject  of  preparation  for  the  ministry  are  undergoing  a  rapid 
change.  And  it  is  an  interesting  subject  of  investigation, 
whether  there  should  be  an  effort  to  arrest  the  progress  of  that 
change,  or  whether  the  efforts  to  educate  more  thoroughly  for 
this  work  should  be  abandoned.  We  wish  to  state  some  of 
the  reasons  which  should  influence  Christians  still  to  seek  for 
a  laborious  and  profound  preparation  in  those  who  are  trained 
up  for  the  gospel  ministry.  Those  views  have  originated  from 
the  nature  of  the  ministerial  office,  and  from  the  state  of  our 
country. 

The  ministry  is  appointed  to  explain  and  vindicate  the 
9* 


102  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

Christian  religion.  That  religion,  like  every  other  system, 
may  be  contemplated  in  a  variety  of  aspects.  A  man  may 
look  at  it  with  the  cold  eye  of  speculation  ;  he  may  regard  the 
historical  documents  which  contain  its  record ;  he  may  con 
template  it  as  fitted  to  make  external  changes  in  society ;  he 
may  survey  it  as  an  assemblage  of  moral  precepts  ;  or  he  may 
look  on  it  as  fitted  to  make  an  immediate  and  permanent  im 
pression  on  the  spirits  of  men.  He  may  contemplate  it  as  the 
fairest  system  of  morality  which  the  world  has  known,  or  as  a 
grand  and  amazing  plan  to  produce  immediate  reconciliation 
between  God  and  man,  through  the  blood  of  the  Mediator, 
offered  in  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Those  who  are  preparing  for  the  ministry  may  also  look  at 
Christianity  in  all  these  lights  ;  and  from  this  point  of  obser 
vation,  they  will  judge  of  the  kind  of  qualifications  which  are 
indispensable  to  fit  them  for  their  work.  Nor  can  it  be 
doubted,  that  candidates  for  the  ministry  may  make  of  them 
selves  whatever  they  wish;  and  come  into  this  work  with  just 
such  aims  and  attainments  as  they  choose.  It  is  easy,  for  ex 
ample,  for  a  young  man  to  fix  his  eye  on  the  profound  acqui 
sitions  of  mental  science,  and  in  religious  themes  he  shall  find 
ample  scope  for  subtle  distinctions;  and  this  propensity  shall 
give  the  entire  cast  to  his  studies  and  his  ministry :  or  he  may 
contract  a  fondness  for  a  dry  and  lifeless  system  of  divinity, 
having  just  the  same  relation  to  the  Christianity  of  the  Bible 
which  the  stiff  and  frightful  preparations  in  the  room  of  the 
anatomist  have  to  real  life ;  and  every  truth  that  comes  under 
his  eye  shall  be  divested  of  half  its  freshness  and  its  power  by 
the  process  of  giving  it  its  location  in  his  arrangement  of  doc 
trine.  Every  lineament  of  beauty  and  of  strength,  every  thing 
that  speaks  of  life,  and  raciness,  and  vigour,  shall  vanish  under 
the  mere  anatomy 'of  the  theological  system;  and  the  preaching 
shall  be  known  only  by  dry  detail,  and  minute  dissections,  and 
the  cold  and  heartless  laying  bare  of  bones  and  sinews  and 


THE    CIIEISTIAN    MINISTRY.  103 

muscles.  Or  lie  may  strike  into  the  regions  of  fancy,  and  cul 
tivate  the  graces  of  elocution,  and  all  that  shall  be  known 
of  him  is,  that  he  is  a  splendid  dcclaimer,  followed  and  ad 
mired  by  multitudes,  but  most  unsuccessful  in  winning  souls 
to  Jesus.  Or  he  may  deal  only  in  moral  precepts,  like  those 
of  Seneca,  and  call  in  the  name  of  Jesus  to  give  sanction  to 
the  cold  and  unmeaning  essays  which  his  own  mind  has  ori 
ginated.  Or  he  may  be  a  warm-hearted  friend  of  the  conver 
sion  of  sinners.  He  may  mingle  together  just  as  much  of  the 
other  characteristics  which  have  been  suggested  as  shall  be 
necessary  to  Jill  up  this  single  purpose  of  his  soul.  And  this 
design  to  save  souls,  and  to  labour  for  revivals  of  religion,  and 
to  advance  the  latter-day  glory  of  the  church,  will  be  the  best 
of  all  guages  in  his  inquiries  how  much  of  the  other  qualifica 
tions  he  should  seek  : — just  as  the  great  purpose  of  a  warrior 
to  make  a  permanent  aggression  on  a  marshalled  foe  shall 
measure  the  nature  of  his  studies ;  the  amount  of  his  repose ; 
and  the  character  of  the  force  he  shall  bring  into  the  field — 
the  heavy,  slow-moving,  dense  column  of  artillery,  or  the  light 
squadron  of  dragoons,  or  the  well-disciplined  infantry. 

This,  then,  is  the  starting-point  from  which  we  are  to  con 
template  the  kind  of  preparation  needed  in  the  ministry.  If 
Christianity  is  a  mere  system  of  morals,  as  many  would  per 
suade  us,  then  let  our  days  and  nights  be  spent  in  frozen  and 
distant  climes  of  thought,  having  as  little  to  do  with  the  Bible, 
and  as  much  converse  as  possible  with  the  shades  of  pagan 
men.  If  it  is  a  system  of  teaching  men  that  they  have  no 
capacity  to  repent  and  believe ;  that  men  are  bound  by  ada 
mant  ,  that  laws  are  enacted  which  cannot  be  obeyed,  and  a 
heaven  offered  which  cannot  be  won;  and  that  diadems  of 
glory  are  offered  as  if  to  mock  our  helplessness ;  and  harps 
of  praise  as  if  to  deride  our  groans  and  tears;  that  men  are  to 
wait  God's  time  for  conversion,  and  are  lound  to  make  no 
effort  till  a  foreign  power  reaches  the  heart,  as  the  lightning 


104  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

rives  the  oak,  then  the  right  kind  of  training  is  to  discipline 
the  mind — unhappily  the  easiest  of  all  modes  of  training  for 
this  work — to  this  posture  of  inactivity  and  delay  : — then  let 
it  be  the  design  of  preaching  to  repress  the  ardour  of  the  soul ; 
to  clip  the  wings  of  faith  ;  and  to  keep  back  from  every  process 
of  investigation  founded  on  a  belief  that  man  has  a  con 
science  ;  that  he  is  a  moral  agent ;  that  he  is  under  obligation 
to  repent,  and  that  he  is  invested  with  any  power  to  do 
his  duty. 

If  it  is  a  system  whose  power  was  appropriately  displayed 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  under  the  labours  of  Luther,  and 
Edwards,  and  the  Tennants,  then  it  demands  in  the  ministry 
all  the  culture  which  can  find  mind  to  conflict  with  mind, 
which  can  so  shape  and  direct  truth  that  it  shall  reach  the 
conscience,  and  shall  make  the  sinner  tremble  when  the  law 
speaks  out  its  thunders,  and  be  filled  with  joy  when  the  gospel 
whispers  peace.  Our  belief  is  that  the  gospel  is  such  a  sys 
tem,  and  that  its  general  characteristic  is,  that  it  is  a  scheme 
fitted  to  make  an  immediate  impression  on  the  souls  of  men. 
It  is  an  annunciation  of  a  plan  of  mercy  which  supposes  a 
decided  act  of  the  mind  in  its  reception,  or  its  rejection.  It 
can  never  be  presented  without  calling  forth  such  an  act.  It 
is  the  proclamation  of  a  Sovereign,  demanding  an  immediate 
return  of  revolted  subjects;  the  tender  voice  of  a  Father, 
inviting  his  wandering  children  to  the  parental  arms;  the 
mandate  of  the  Lawgiver,  prescribing  the  way  of  obedience ; 
and  the  awful  annunciation  of  a  great  Prophet,  lifting  the 
veil  from  the  future,  and  disclosing  the  tremendous  realities 
of  hell,  and  the  unutterable  glories  of  heaven.  It  appeals  to 
the  sober  judgment  of  the  mind,  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  to 
the  inextinguishable  desire  of  happiness,  to  the  dying  love 
of  the  Son  of  God,  to  all  our  hopes  and  all  our  fears,  and 
solemnly  commands  men  to  turn  and  live.  This  is  the  mes 
sage  which  the  ministry  bears.  Compared  with  the  induce- 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  105 

mcnts  to  become  Christians,  and  Christians  at  once,  how  feeble 
arc  those  things  which  do  actually  influence  and  control  men  ! 
Man,  for  the  hope  of  gain,  will  brave  all  the  dangers  of  the 
seas,  and  all  the  colds  of  the  north,  and  the  fiery  sands  of  the 
burning  zone.  The  clarion  of  battle,  or  the  sweet  name  of 
liberty,  will  rouse  nations  to  arms,  and  fire  the  most  listless 
with  the  hope  of  victory.  The  hard-hearted  man  melts  at  the 
pleading  of  the  orphan ;  the  stern  brow  is  relaxed  at  the  tears 
of  impoverished  age ;  the  iron  nerves  of  the  guilty  tremble  as 
the  lips  of  a  witness  sworn  to  declare  the  truth  open  to  hasten 
his  condemnation ;  the  rebel  son  is  humbled  at  the  pleadings 
of  a  father,  or  the  tears  of  a  mother.  But,  in  all  these  cases, 
how  powerless  are  the  motives  which  press  men  to  action, 
compared  with  those  which  the  ministry  should  use  to  urge 
them  to  enter  into  heaven.  Yet,  what  advocate,  patriot, 
parent,  or  even  pauper,  hesitates  to  approach  men  with  the 
expectation  that  an  immediate  impression  may  be  effected  by 
the  eloquence  of  argument,  and  the  tears  of  persuasion  ? 
Why,  we  ask,  should  not  the  ministers  of  religion  appeal  to 
men  to  rouse  them  with  like  decisiveness  to  action,  and  with 
like  success  ? 

When  John  the  Baptist  proclaimed  the  message  of  God,  he 
expected  an  immediate  movement  on  the  minds  of  a  wicked 
generation,  and  thousands  encompassed  the  man  rudely  attired, 
and  trod  penitent  in  his  footsteps  to  the  waters  of  Jordan. 
When  the  Son  of  Man  came,  he  also  proclaimed  the  need 
of  immediate  repentance.  Every  word  he  spake  took  effect. 
Every  reproof  was  felt.  His  voice  always  found  its  way  to 
the  human  heart.  Thousands  gnashed  upon  him  with  their 
teeth,  and  indignantly  turned  away  from  the  Prophet  of  Gali 
leo  ;  but  thousands  also  mourned  in  bitterness  over  their  sins, 
and  came  for  salvation  to  the  meek  and  lowly  Lamb  of  God. 
A  single  interview  with  him  seemed  to  seal  the  character. 
The  Scribe  turned  away  more  indignant.  The  Sadducce 


106  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

sought  not  his  presence  again.  The  fishermen  of  Galileo 
heard  his  voice  at  once,  and  followed  him.  Was  the  gospel 
proclaimed  in  Jerusalem,  in  Arabia,  in  Corinth,  in  Philippi, 
in  Rome  ?  Who  is  stranger  to  the  fact  that  it  made  its  way 
at  once  to  the  heart,  and  that  the  apostles  never  admitted  a 
debate,  or  a  moment's  deliberation,  about  putting  away  idols, 
and  turning  to  God  ?  When  Luther,  and  Calvin,  and  Knox 
rose  from  the  oppression  of  the  Romish  hierarchy,  they  pur 
sued  their  labours  with  the  expectation  that  their  voice  would 
be  heard  in  all  the  vales  and  in  all  the  mountains  of  the  Old 
World.  It  was  heard.  It  sounded  in  the  glens  and  glaciers 
of  Switzerland ;  it  was  borne  over  the  plains  of  France,  and 
along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube ;  it  shook  the 
throne  of  England's  king,  and  echoed  along  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland,  and  moved  in  all  Europe  a  heavy  mass  on  which 
had  been  recumbent  the  shades  of  a  long  and  chilly  night, 
and  roused  no  small  portion  of  the  world  to  life,  to  energy,  to 
regeneration.  When  Whiteficld  spoke,  when  Edwards  rea 
soned,  when  the  Tennants  pleaded,  no  small  portion  of  the 
people  of  America  were  roused  to  seek  the  path  of  life,  and 
peeans  of  thanksgiving  rose  from  thousands  of  tongues  taught 
to  sing  the  power  of  the  gospel,  brought  to  bear  directly  on  the 
consciences  of  men.  We  might  a*dd  to  their  honoured  names 
those  of  many  living  men,  who,  like  them,  have  come  into  the 
ministry  with  a  belief  that  the  gospel  is  fitted  to  make  an 
impression  on  men.  Few  are  the  older  villages  in  our  country 
which  have  not  been  blessed  with  the  labours  of  such  men ; 
and  from  their  labours  and  the  attending  agency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  an  awful  sacredness  seems  to  encompass  the  rising 
towns  in  this  land.  Seldom  do  we  tread  the  streets  of  a  city, 
or  town,  or  peaceful  hamlet,  that  has  not  been  hallowed  by  re 
vivals  of  religion ;  and  in  this  fact  we  mark  the  evidence,  at 
once,  that  a  God  of  mercy  presides  over  the  destinies  of  this 
people,  and  that  the  gospel  is  indeed  "  ih&  poicer  of  God  unto 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  107 

salvation."  And  while  we  live,  an  unusual  power  has  gone 
forth  in  illustration  of  this  great  point,  that  the  gospel  is  fitted 
to  make  an  impression  on  the  souls  of  men  at  once,  and  that 
in  the  hands  of  a  faithful  ministry,  it  can  draw  men  with  a 
resistless  power ,  weeping,  to  the  cross. 

Now,  if  this  is  the  nature  of  the  ministry,  and  if  every  man 
who  enters  upon  this  work  bears  a  message  thus  fitted  to 
make  an  impression  at  once  on  the  heart,  fitted  completely  to 
revolutionize  the  man,  and  stamp  the  features  of  that  revolu 
tion  eternally  on  his  soul, — then  it  is  proper  to  ask,  whether 
this  is  a  work  which  demands  any  special  training,  or  whether 
men  are  formed  for  it  by  native  endowments,  or  by  any  extra 
ordinary  communication  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Here  we  shall 
call  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  a  few  principles  on  which 
the  world  has  hitherto  acted. 

A  comparatively  long  and  tedious  training,  involving  often 
an  apparently  great  waste  of  time,  is  the  allotment  of  man. 
What  would  seem  to  be  a  greater  waste  of  more  precious  time, 
than  that  twenty  years,  or  one-third  of  the  ordinary  life  of 
man,  should  be  employed  in  infancy  and  youth  in  the  slow 
and  cumbersome  process  of  learning  to  talk,  to  move,  to  read, 
to  think,  and  to  become  acquainted  with  the  elements  of  the 
mechanic  arts  ?  Yet  the  humblest  occupations,  the  profes 
sions  demanding  the  lowest  amount  of  intellect  and  skill,  are 
subjected  to  this  long  and  tedious  pupilage.  Is  it,  then,  a 
departure  from  the  established  laws  of  the  world,  when  men 
are  called  to  prepare,  by  long  and  weary  toils,  for  the  mo 
mentous  work  of  leading  sinners,  weeping  and  humbled,  to  the 
altar  and  the  cross  ?  In  every  other  department  of  action, 
in  all  the  mechanic  arts,  in  every  thing  demanding  strength, 
and  skill,  and  power  over  men, — from  the  child,  the  ancient 
wrestler,  and  the  soldier,  to  the  advocate,  the  physician,  and 
the  senator, — there  is  but  one  process  of  training  men, 
and  that  is  by  long  and  weary  years  of  probation  and  toil. 


108  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

Who  knows  not  how  much  more  was  gained  on  the  field  of 
Waterloo,  or  in  the  strife  at  Trafalgar,  by  regular  and  disci 
plined  troops,  than  could  have  been  done  by  raw  and  undisci 
plined  men  ?  And  who,  when  the  banners  of  victory  float 
over  the  fields  of  the  slain,  or  the  acclamations  of  emancipated 
freemen  greet  the  returning  conqueror,  regrets  the  days  of  dis 
cipline,  or  the  time  spent  in  preparing  for  conflict  ? 

We  may  weep  over  the  desolations  of  our  country ;  we  may 
wish  that  many  more  heralds  of  the  cross  were  in  the  field ; 
we  may  be  disposed  to  chide  the  dilatory  steps  of  those  who 
devote  years  of  preparation  to  this  work ;  but  we  should  not  be 
unmindful  that  in  like  manner  every  father  might  weep  that 
so  many  years  are  requisite  to  fit  his  son  to  aid  him,  or  that  so 
tedious  a  process  had  been  appointed  by  God  to  fit  him  to 
adorn  the  walks  of  public  or  private  life. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  it  is  a  great  law  of  nature,  that 
eminent  success  is  not  to  be  measured  by  the  years  that  men 
occupy  in  the  field.  It  is  by  the  power  of  concentration  which 
men  possess,  by  the  direct  and  efficient  might  which  they 
bring  to  bear  on  a  particular  object,  that  their  conquests  are 
marked.  The  power  of  the  blowpipe  is  not  from  the  length 
of  time  during  which  it  is  applied  to  metals ;  it  is  the  intensity 
and  condensation  of  the  flame.  The  power  of  an  army  is  not 
from  the  time  it  has  been  in  the  field ;  it  is  in  the  nature 
of  its  discipline,  and  the  concentrated  energy  of  its  leaders. 
Alexander  and  Napoleon  gained  their  chief  laurels  while  yet 
young  j  one  decisive  action  gave  immortality  to  the  name 
of  Nelson,  and  in  our  own  country,  to  those  of  Macdonough 
and  Perry.  Yet  who  would  aver  that  the  time  spent  in  pre 
paration  for  these  scenes  of  victory  was  lost,  or  should  have 
been  employed  for  years  in  feeble  and  misdirected  sallies. 
So  Newton  turned  the  concentrated  power  of  his  mind,  with 
amazing  intensity,  on  the  subjects  of  science,  and  before  the 
age  of  thirty,  had  almost  completed  his  discoveries,  and  given 


THE    CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  109 

a  finish  to  the  glories  of  his  imperishable  name ;  and  Milton 
devoted  a  long  and  toilsome  life  in  slow  preparation  for 
writing  a  book,  which,  he  foresaw,  "the  world  would  not 
willingly  let  die."  We  might  remark,  also,  that  our  Saviour 
judged  in  this  manner  of  the  power  of  concentrated  action  ; 
and  of  the  time  when  men  should  labour  in  the  gospel.  In 
three  years,  his  voice  and  his  omnipotent  arm  made  an  im 
pression  on  the  condition  of  mankind,  that  gave  a  new  and 
ever-abiding  direction  to  human  things.  Nor  has  that  exam 
ple  been  unblessed  in  the  ministry  of  those  who  have  pro 
claimed  his  gospel.  It  remains  yet,  to  be  proved  that  they 
who  go  forth  in  the  fulness  of  their  strength,  and  the  maturity 
of  a  long  preparation  for  their  work,  accomplish  less  in  the 
ministry,  than  they  who  diffuse  their  work  over  more  years, 
and  enter  this  great  office  with  diluted  powers  and  feeble 
preparation,  with  acquisitions  which  scarce  remind  us  that 
learning  or  discipline  are  in  any  way  connected  with  the 


Now,  let  it  be  remembered,  that  this  ministry  is  called  to 
act  on  mind  ;  that  it  is  sent  forth  to  encounter  every  class  of 
men;  that  it  meets  every  form  of  prejudice;  that  it  falls  in 
with  all  the  power  of  sophistry,  all  the  art  of  sin,  all  the  pride 
of  intellect  and  of  passion,  all  the  sottishness  and  brutality 
of  life;  all  the  forms  of  learning,  and  all  the  subtlety  of 
schools,  and  all  the  pedantry  of  the  world ;  and  that  they  who 
are  to  proclaim  the  gospel  are  required  to  teach  all  nations, 
and  the  necessity  of  such  a  training  as  we  advocate  will  be  at 
once  apparent.  How  shall  he  seek  to  bear  the  gospel  to  the 
minds  of  men,  who  is  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  the  mind  ? 
How  is  he  to  answer  the  cavils  of  skeptics,  who  is  ignorant 
alike  of  their  cavils,  and  the  sources  of  their  plausibility  ? 
How  shall  he  meet  their  prejudices,  and  surmount  their  real 
difficulties,  who  has  yet  to  learn  what  they  are,  and  what  is 
their  strength ;  and  how  shall  he  present  a  system  who  knows 
VOL.  I.  10 


110  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

not  what  the  system  is,  or  tell  men  of  laws,  and  usages,  and 
claims  in  the  Bible,  who  has  yet  himself  to  look  into  those 
laws,  to  learn  the  existence  of  those  usages,  or  to  see  argu 
ments  which  support  those  claims  ? 

Every  man  who  stands  before  others  to  preach  the  gospel, 
stands  there  professing  his  ability  to  explain,  defend,  and 
illustrate  the  book  of  GOD  ;  to  meet  the  cavils  of  its  enemies, 
and  to  press  its  great  truths  on  the  hearts  and  consciences 
of  men.  His  very  profession  implies  that  he  not  merely 
beliei-cs,  but  is  able  to  show  to  thinking  men  that  this  is  a 
revelation  of  God.  Why  should  he  attempt  to  explain  a 
book  which  he  can  neither  vindicate  nor  understand  ?  It 
implies  that  he  is  familiar  with  the  ever-varying  forms  of  ob 
jection  and  cavil;  that  he  is  not  merely  convinced,  but  is  able 
to  convince  others,  that  this  is  a  book  of  GOD,  and  that  Chris 
tians  are  not  of  necessity  fools,  but  that  religion  commends 
itself  to  the  sober  judgment  and  conscience  of  men.  What 
right  has  a  man  in  this  holy  office  to  assume  that  his  word  is 
law,  and  his  opinion  infallible  ?  What  right  have  we  to  ad 
vance  to  our  fellow-men,  and  claim  that  what  ice  say  is  to  be 
received  without  argument,  and  that  men  are  not  to  call  it  in 
question  without  being  charged  with  fighting  against  God  ? 
The  age  has  gone  by  when  declamation  could  be  passed  off  for 
argument,  when  dogmatism  could  sit  down  in  the  place  of 
thought,  and  when  pride  and  pomp  could  bow  the  souls 
of  men  to  the  dictation  of  the  priesthood.  Men  will  think, 
and  will  reason  henceforward ;  and  the  truth  has  gone  forth, 
never  more  to  be  recalled,  that  there  are  henceforth  to  be  no 
trammels  on  the  freedom  of  the  mind,  but  such  as  reason,  and 
conscience,  and  thought  can  fasten  there.  And  if  we,  with  all 
the  advantages  of  learning  and  science,  and  the  amazing  but 
just  power  of  a  Christian  pulpit,  in  "its  legitimate  and  sober 
use,"  cannot  persuade  men,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  to  think 
as  Christians,  they  will  be  persuaded  by  others  to  think  liha 


THE   CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  Ill 

infidels.  Thought  will  be  untrammeled,  and  an  ago  has 
arrived  when  the  refuse  of  other  professions  will  not  do  for 
the  ministry;  when  the  man  who  at  the  bar,  or  in  the  senate, 
could  not  gain  a  livelihood,  might  perform  the  office  of  a  men 
dicant  or  a  curate. 

Far  from  us,  and  from  our  friends,  and  from  this  age,  be 
the  ministration  of  men  of  dull  and  stupid  intellects ;  of  cold 
and  phlegmatic  hearts ;  of  a  dogmatical  and  aristocratic  cast 
of  mind ;  of  lofty  and  self-assuming  dictation ;  of  barren  and 
technical  statements  of  dogmas,  unsustained  by  thought  and 
unsupported  by  sound  argumentation.  The  world  is  becom 
ing  more  and  more  sensitive  to  the  truth  that  he  who  enters 
not  upon  this  work  with  somewhat  of  the  fixedness  of 
purpose  that  characterized  the  youthful  conqueror  of  Italy, 
or  Washington  struggling  for  freedom,  or  that  gave  firmness 
to  the  indomitable  minds  of  Hancock,  or  Henry,  or  Hamilton, 
or  rather  to  the  burning  ardour  of  Paul,  has  fallen  below  the 
aim  demanded  of  the  heralds  of  salvation,  and  had  better  find 
an  occupancy  and  a  livelihood  in  any  of  the  less  conspicuous 
kinds  of  employment. 

It  might  seem  almost  needless  to  add,  that  the  man  who 
goes  forth  to  proclaim  the  gospel  should  be  able  to  read  it,  at 
least,  in  the  language  in  which  it  was  originally  penned. 
Why  should  a  man  go  to  expound  a  message  to  others,  which 
he  can  neither  read  nor  understand,  as  it  came  from  the  hand 
of  Him  who  commissions  him  ?  Can  there  be  a  more  evident 
unfitness  in  regard  to  qualification  for  a  work,  than  to  be 
ignorant  of  the  very  document  which  it  is  the  main  business 
of  his  life  to  present  to  others  ?  It  is  almost  too  absurd  for 
grave  remark,  to  speak  of  an  ambassador  who  cannot,  except 
by  an  interpreter,  read  his  credentials ;  of  a  lawyer  who  cannot 
read  the  laws  which  he  expounds ;  of  a  teacher  who  cannot 
read  even  the  books  which  he  professes  to  teach.  And  yet 
the  melancholy  fact  has  existed  in  this  land,  and  still  exists, 


112  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

that  to  multitudes  of  those  who  are  public  teachers,  the 
original  languages  of  the  Scriptures  are  unapproached  trea 
sures;  and  that  the  confidence  with  which  they  speak,  is  that 
of  men  who  depend  on  the  testimony  of  others,  for  a  know 
ledge  of  that  which  it  is  their  appointed  business  to  explain. 

Who  knows  not  how  reluctantly  this  whole  subject  is 
approached  even  in  the  seminaries  of  Christian  theology  ? 
And  who  knows  not  how  it  is  laid  aside  as  soon  as  the  depart 
ing  evangelist  has  bid  adieu  to  the  place  of  his  theological 
training  ?  And  who  knows  not  that  the  whole  arrangement 
of  the  study  afterward  contemplates  the  removal  of  all  books 
written  in  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  tongues,  into  the  most 
remote  and  unfrequented  departments  of  the  library  ?  And 
who  knows  not  how  much  there  is  to  excite  compassion,  if  not 
ridicule,  ever  afteward,  in  the  effort  to  trace  out  the  meaning 
of  a  Hebrew  word,  or  to  catch  the  thought  couched  in  the 
phraseology  of  the  forgotten  Greek  ? 

The  main  business  of  the  ministry  is  to  study  and  to  ex 
plain  the  Bible;  and  it  is  idle  to  talk  of  studying  the  Bible, 
unless  the  language  of  its  original  composition  can  be  under 
stood.  The  great  truth  is  impressing  itself  more  strongly  on 
this  generation — that  sublime  truth  which  achieved,  under 
God,  the  glories  of  the  Reformation — that  the  Bible  is  the 
foundation  of  theological  knowledge.  And  it  has  not  failed  to 
attract  attention,  that,  in  proportion  as  the  Scriptures  have 
been  brought  into  view,  systems  of  technical  divinity  have 
retired  into  the  back  ground;  the  mind  has  been  unloosed 
from  trammels ;  and  new  views  of  truth  have  presented  them 
selves  to  the  understanding  and  the  heart.  Indeed,  from  age 
to  age,  the  propensity  to  bury  the  Bible  under  a  cumbrous 
load  of  standards  and  systems  of  divinity  has  been  so  great; 
so  much  care  has  been  taken  to  shape  and  direct  every  great 
mass  of  truth ;  so  solicitous  have  men  been  first  to  form  the 
mould  of  the  system,  and  then  to  run  the  system  into  it,  that 


THE   CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  113 

it  has  ceased  to  be  matter  of  marvel  that  Christianity  has  been 
so  little  free  and  unfettered  in  its  movements,  and  that  the 
growth  of  knowledge  in  this  grandest  of  all  departments  of 
science,  has  been  so  slow  and  stinted.  One  great  truth  is 
standing  before  this  age.  It  will  be  in  vain  for  us  to  refuse 
distinctly  to  contemplate  it.  It  will  work  its  way  into  all  our 
pcliools ;  it  will  occupy  all  our  seats  of  learning ;  it  will  seize 
upon  all  our  seminaries.  It  is  not  that  the  sentiments  of  tho 
past  are  to  be  treated  with  contempt  and  disregard.  It  is  not 
that  men  are  indignantly  to  trample  on  all  the  monuments  of 
wisdom  and  all  the  standards  of  Christian  doctrine.  It  is  that 
the  J^ible  is  the  great  original  source  of  truth  in  this  world; 
that  it  is  to  be  investigated  by  all  the  aid  which  learning,  and 
piety,  and  toil  can  bring  to  bear  on  it;  that  its  great  and 
unchanging  decisions  are  to  be  listened  to  with  profound 
deference,  and  without  theological  gainsaying  •  and  that  its 
unbending  sentiments  are  to  give  shape  to  every  system 
of  truth  •  to  remould,  if  necessary,  every  form  of  doctrine  ;  to 
repress  every  vagary  of  ancient  imagination;  and  to  chain 
down  every  fancy  of  daring  metaphysics,  of  theological  poetry, 
romance,  and  knight-errantry ;  and  to  demolish  every  Gothic 
pile  that  stands  to  awe  the  human  mind,  or  that  stretches 
its  lengthened  shadows  over  any  of  the  paths  of  human 
thought.  Let  the  ministry,  as  they  will,  and  must,  and 
should  do,  in  this  and  every  coming  age,  approach  the  book 
of  God  as  Bacon,  and  Boyle,  and  Newton  approached  the  world 
of  matter  and  of  mind  before  them,  as  simple  interpreters,  and 
the  outer  limit  of  theological  attainment  will  have  been  gained. 
The  human  mind  will  be  emancipated,  and  the  strength  of  the 
human  faculties  in  theology  will  be  demonstrated  by  sitting  at 
the  feet  of  Christianity,  evincing  the  higher  laws  of  the  uni 
verse,  just  as  men  who  sat  down  before  the  works  of  God, 
evincing  its  lower  laics,  with  childlike  simplicity,  learned  what 
was  the  order  of  his  material  creation. 

10* 


114  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

Now  we  know  not  a  stronger  argument  for  education  than 
this.  The  mind  icitt  be  free.  It  is  the  charter  of  this 
age.  Shall  it  be  a  wild  and  erratic  freedom  ?  Shall  it  be 
suffered  to  rove  undisciplined  over  all  the  works  and  word 
of  God  ?  Or  shall  it  be  disciplined  and  subjected  to  sober 
laws,  and  bound  by  the  restraints  of  a  thorough  education — 
the  only  proper  restraints  of  thought  ?  Shall  men  be  taught 
to  approach  the  Bible,  subjected  to  just  rules  of  exegesis, 
fitted  to  defend  the  truth,  and  commend  it  to  every  man's 
conscience;  or  shall  men  start  forth  by  hundreds  as  they 
will  into  the  ministry,  exalting  every  vagary  of  the  fancy  into 
a  Scripture  truth ;  deeming  every  crudity  of  the  mind  a  reve 
lation  from  heaven,  and  subjecting  the  Scriptures  to  every 
vain,  foolish  interpretation  that  a  heated  fancy  and  fanaticism 
may  engender  ?  The  truth  is,  men  must  be  educated,  or  the 
very  principles  on  which  the  world  is  acting,  will  work  its 
ruin.  Fix  a  vast  wheel  in  complicated  machinery,  for  a  check 
and  balance,  and  it  produces  equality  and  order.  Loosen 
that  same  wheel  from  its  axis,  and  send  it  with  the  same  mo 
mentum  at  random,  and  it  will  carry  desolation  to  the  entire 
fabric. 

We  shall  close  this  discussion  with  a  reference  to  the 
singular  aspect  of  our  land,  in  other  respects  bearing  on  this 
subject.  The  star  of  our  freedom  moves  westward.  It  has 
gone  from  the  graves  of  our  fathers,  and  now  stands  over  the 
valleys  of  the  Mississippi.  The  hand  that  is  to  guide  us,  is 
henceforward  to  be  stretched  out  far  beyond  the  mountains; 
or  the  chains  that  are  to  bind  us  will  be  forged  in  the  regions 
of  the  setting  sun. 

We  remark,  then,  that  the  ministry  is  called  to  act  on  the 
destinies  of  an  age,  a  predominant  characteristic  of  which,  we 
fear,  is  likely  to  be,  that  it  will  be  infidel.  Every  man  who 
can  cast  an  eye  over  this  land,  knows  that  infidelity  here  will 
not  be  of  a  character  that  can  be  encountered  by  those  who 


THE   CHRISTIAN   MINISTRY.  115 

are  not  trained  for  the  conflict.  It  is  not  merely  that  ancient 
infidelity  which  loved  to  sit  among  ruins,  like  the  satyr  and 
the  owl,  and  the  bittern  and  the  cormorant,  in  the  lonely 
palaces  of  Babylon.  It  is  not  simply  that  of  France,  whose 
fabric  was  reared  and  cemented  by  the  blood  of  millions,  and 
which  traced  its  eulogium  in  a  nation's  tears  and  pollution. 
It  is  not  merely  the  sentiment  of  Hobbes,  that  all  property  is 
the  right  of  every  man,  and  may  be  taken  if  it  can ;  nor  the 
dying  maxim  of  Hume,  that  precious  legacy  which  the  his 
torian  of  England  left — that  suicide  is  lawful,  that  adultery 
must  be  practiced,  if  a  man  would  secure  all  the  benefits  of 
life.  It  is  not  merely  the  unbelief  which  visits  the  palace  in 
the  writings  of  Voltaire  and  Gibbon,  or  which  travels  down 
into  the  brothel  and  the  sty  in  the  works  of  Paine.  It  is  all 
combined ;  the  precious  offering  of  entire  ages  of  infidelity, 
poured,  in  the  fulness  of  its  measure,  on  our  shores,  and 
rearing  its  temples  of  pollution  and  crime  in  our  villages,  our 
cities,  our  theatres,  our  palaces,  our  schools,  and  our  prisons. 
It  comes  to  us  with  the  learning  of  the  past,  and  the  scoffing 
of  the  present ;  arrayed  in  wealth  and  in  rags ;  now  seating 
itself  in  the  place  of  power,  and  now  uttering  its  oracles  from 
the  dunghill;  now  flowing  in  rills  of  oily  eloquence;  now 
putting  on  the  aspect  of  reason  and  learning ;  now  seen  in  the 
pleadings  for  licentious  indulgence ;  now  lurking  in  the  smile 
of  polished  contempt ;  and  now  pouring  forth  its  piteous  wail- 
ings  in  the  name  of  liberty,  and  rallying  our  countrymen  to 
the  Standards  of  freedom,  when  it  has  known  no  freedom,  and 
attempting  to  sit  down  in  the  abodes  of  learning,  when  its 
reign  there  has  been  always  that  of  ignorance  and  death. 

The  inquiry  is,  whether  we  shall  send  forth  young  men  un 
trained  and  unfitted  to  grapple  with  this  hydra,  or  whether 
we  shall  act  on  what  has  hitherto  been  deemed  the  dictate 
of  common  sense,  to  train  them  for  their  work,  and  fit  them 
for  the  portentous  aspect  of  the  times  ?  It  is  too  late  to  dream 


116  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

that  ignorance  can  cope  with  learning,  or  unskilfulness  with 
cunning;  or  that  darkness  can  supply  the  place  of  light;  or 
dogmatism  can  settle  questions  in  religion ;  or  men  be  over 
awed  by  the  terrors  of  anathemas  and  chains.  Men  will  be 
free.  And  unless  you  can  train  your  ministers  to  meet  them 
in  the  field  where  the  freedom  of  mind  is  contemplated]  and 
let  argument  meet  argument,  and  thought  conflict  with 
thought,  and  sober  sense  and  learning  overcome  the  day 
dreams  and  dotage  of  infidelity,  as  it  has  done  the  strength  of 
its  manhood,  you  may  abandon  the  hope  that  religion  will  set 
up  its  empire  over  the  thinking  men  of  this  age. 

Again  :  Ministers  act  in  an  age  remarkable  for  the  subtilty 
and  cunning  of  error.  It  weaves  itself  into  our  learning.  It 
is  intrenched  in  the  ramparts  reared  to  confine  thought,  and 
to  fetter,  the  human  faculties,  in  a  darker  age.  Ancient  sys 
tems  raise  their  affrighting  forms  over  the  men  who  dare  to 
break  away  from  the  consecrated  modes  of  thought  and  ex 
pression.  Error  hides  itself  in  specious  pretences.  It  comes 
in  the  glow  of  pious  feeling.  It  awes  us  by  telling  of  the 
venerated  names  of  men  that  the  world  loves  and  delights  to 
honour.  It  summons  to  its  aid  authority,  law,  ecclesiastical 
censures ;  profound  regard  for  order ;  veneration  for  the  past, 
and  great  apprehensions  of  the  future.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  calls  to  its  defence  new  modes  of  reasoning ;  the  latest  forms 
of  mental  science ;  the  philosophy  of  the  schools,  and  the  pro 
found  learning  of  an  age  unequalled  in  power  of  thought, 
rapidity  of  conception,  grandeur  of  enterprise,  and  deep  re 
searches  into  the  laws  of  matter  and  of  mind.  If  there  ever 
was  an  age  when  a  man,  to  be  any  thing,  must  think  for  him 
self,  this  is  that  age.  Yet  who  is  he  that  thinks  for  himself? 
Only  he  whose  mind  you  discipline ;  whose  fancy  you  chain 
down  to  sober  investigation ;  whose  veneration  for  names  and 
systems  you  merge  in  the  grand  enterprise  of  looking  at 
things  as  tliey  are.  This  object  is  contemplated  in  every 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  117 

design  of  education;  and  our  only  security  against  error, 
under  God,  is  to  train  men  to  habits  of  sober  and  patient 
thought ;  to  teach  them  that  argument  is  not  in  names  ;  nor 
religion  in  dictation;  nor  piety  in  cant  phrases  and  stereo 
typed  expressions  of  regard  for  what  the  world  has  admired, 
"time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  con 
trary/'  but  in  a  conscience  made  quick  to  love  the  truth,  and 
habits  of  industry,  and  patience,  and  prayer  that  shrink 
from  no  obstacles,  and  that  persevere  until  the  mind  is  fixed 
in  the  truth,  and  the  message  is  borne  to  the  soul  fresh 
from  God. 

Again :  No  eye  can  be  closed  to  the  fact  that  the  emissaries 
of  a  church  which,  in  much  darker  times  than  ours,  called  for 
all  the  skill  of  Luther,  the  learning  of  Calvin,  and  the  elo 
quence  of  Melancthon,  are  coming"  in  upon  this  land.  Nor  do 
we  send  forth  many  men  into  the  field,  who  will  not  encounter 
others  trained  for  the  conflict ;  plausible  in  argument ;  smooth 
and  winning  in  eloquence;  mild  in  manners;  rich  in  learning; 
subtle  in  sophistry;  and  commanding  in  talent;  schooled  in 
the  nurseries  of  the  delusive  arts,  and  in  colleges  formed  to 
teach  the  real  cunning  of  the  serpent,  and  the  apparent  harm- 
lessness  of  the  dove.  "Who  knows  not  that  the  Jesuit  is  at 
our  doors,  and  is  hastening  to  embrace  the  pillars  of  the  state, 
and  enter  into  the  temple  of  our  liberty?  Who  knows  not 
that,  with  skill  adapted  to  our  times,  he  comes  with  art,  with 
eloquence,  and  with  power ;  that  he  selects  the  richest  vales 
for  his  abode,  and  draws  to  the  places  of  fascination  and  ruin, 
our  sons  and  daughters  ?  And  shall  Protestants  go  forth  to 
meet  him  unapprized  of  his  arts,  unskilled  for  conflict,  un 
guarded  with  the  panoply  with  which  teaching  and  prayer 
can  furnish  the  champion  of  truth  in  this  holy  war  ?  Our 
countrymen  may  slumber  over  this.  Our  churches  may  repose 
in  security.  But  if  there  is  an  eye  to  catch  the  prospect  of 
danger,  or  an  car  open  to  alarm,  the  Christian  will  feel  that 


118  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

they  who  are  defenders  of  the  truth,  cannot  be  fitted  for  this 
conflict  by  ignorance,  or  marshalled  for  the  battle  by  piety 
alone,  however  ardent. 

We  before  remarked  on  the  prodigious  expanse  of  the  active 
powers  in  this  land.  We  might  dwell  on  this,  and  show  fliat 
this  untiring  activity  demands  correspondent  learning  and 
discipline,  in  our  ministry.  Our  countrymen  stretch  their 
way  to  the  West,  and  found  cities,  and  towns,  and  colleges 
there.  Who  is  to  attend  them  ?  Who  to  counsel,  who  to  sit 
in  the  seats  of  learning  ?  Shall  ignorance ;  shall  infidelity  ? 
Counsellors  they  will  have,  and  men  of  learning  they  will  have 
to  teach  their  youth,  and  lay  the  foundation  of  their  own 
society.  Can  any  American,  any  man  who  has  ever  cast  a 
glance  at  Plymouth,  doubt  whether  they  should  be  men  of 
learning  and  talent  who  are  to  direct  the  destinies  of  the 
West,  and  mould  the  character  of  that  population  ?  Be  igno 
rance  and  fanaticism  anywhere  else  rather  than  in  the  minis 
try  of  the  rising  empire  of  the  West.  He  that  by  a  touch, 
may  control  the  destiny  of  millions,  should  not  be  a  pedant,  a 
conceited  fanatic,  or  a  stranger  to  the  power  of  moulding  the 
elements  of  political  and  religious  society,  with  reference  to 
the  destinies  of  the  rising  empire. 

Our  country  is  connected  with  the  world.  We  owe  a  debt 
to  all  nations.  Our  name  is  everywhere  known.  Our  influ 
ence  stretches  across  the  waters.  Every  nation  looks  to  us ; 
and  it  must  be  ours  to  furnish  men  who  shall  bear  the  gospel 
from  pole  to  pole.  The  name  of  an  American  preacher  should 
be  in  religion,  what  the  name  of  an  American  citizen  is,  a 
passport  to  all  climes,  and  an  honour  in  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth.  Let  men  be  trained  as  they  should  be,  and  it  will. 
Even  now  it  is  an  honoured  name,  and  is  beginning  to  be 
known  in  all  the  empires  of  men.  Missionaries,  nurtured  by 
our  education  societies,  are  encountering  the  dangers  of 
every  ocean  j  treading  every  region  of  sand,  or  snows  j  ascend- 


THE    CHRISTIAN    MINISTRY.  119 

ing  every  hill,  and  going  down  into  every  valley ;  exploring 
every  island,  and  in  almost  every  language  proclaiming  the 
wonderful  works  of  God. 

Whose  heart  does  not  beat  with  holier  and  happier  emotion, 
when  he  remembers  that  America  is  rearing  men  to  carry  the 
gospel  through  every  zone  ?  And  who  would  limit  the  efforts 
of  any  association  that  sought  to  fit  heralds  of  salvation  to  go 
forth  to  benighted  nations,  and  to  tell  of  a  dying  Saviour  in 
the  snows  of  Siberia,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Senegal  and 
the  Ganges  ?  Every  American  Christian  must  love  his  reli 
gion  and  his  country  more  when  he  remembers,  that  even  now 
the  voice  of  the  American  is  heard  in  the  islands  of  the  ocean, 
and  that  our  country's  blood,  consecrated  by  piety  and  learn 
ing,  flows  amid  all  the  people  of  the  earth.  We  live  with  re 
ference  to  future  times,  and  distant  men.  We  know  how  the 
voice  of  the  American  is  heard  abroad.  We  love  our  country 
more  when  we  remember  that  the  example  and  the  eloquence, 
the  learning  and  piety  of  the  Mathers,  and  of  Eliot,  and 
Hooker,  and  Edwards,  and  Davies,  and  Brainerd,  and  I) wight, 
and  Payson,  strike  across  the  waters,  and  shall  be  borne  on 
to  other  ages  and  other  men.  It  shows  that  we  arc  not  un 
mindful  of  our  birthright,  and  that  we  remember  that  we  are 
the  descendants  of  the  people  honoured  by  the  names  of 
Baxter,  and  Owen,  and  Barrow,  and  Taylor.  We  love  our 
country  more  when  we  remember,  too,  that  Fisk,  and  Parsons, 
and  Hall  went  from  our  shores,  and  have  not  been  deemed 
unworthy  coadjutors  in  the  cause  for  which  Martyn,  and 
Swartz,  and  Vanderkcmp  toiled  and  died.  To  furnish  more 
such  men  is  the  noblest  object  of  the  toils  and  prayers  of 
American  Christians. 

There  is  an  entire  field  of  thought  connected  with  this  sub 
ject,  into  which  we  cannot  now  enter.  We  refer  to  the  ques 
tion,  whether  this  object  will  not  take  care  of  itself;  whether 
there  is  need  to  aid  those  who  arc  coining  forward ;  or  whether 


120  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

numbers  sufficient  would  not  of  themselves  seek  a  preparation 
for  the  holy  ministry.  We  can  only  advert  to  the  well-known 
facts, — 1.  That  true  worth  is  retiring  and  modest,  and  needs 
to  be  sought  out,  and  urged  onward.  2.  That  talent  and 
piety  are  often  found  in  humble  life,  and  encompassed  with 
poverty.  8.  That  there  is  an  alarming  want  of  ministers  in 
this  land,  of  those  who  are  qualified  for  their  work,  and  that 
the  increase  by  no  means  keeps  pace  with  that  of  our  popula 
tion.  4.  That  the  way  to  prevent  the  land  from  being  overrun 
with  preachers  of  every  character  and  qualification,  except  the 
right,  is  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  ministerial  character,  to 
diffuse  knowledge,  and  make  the  people  restless  and  dissatisfied 
under  an  ignorant  or  a  bigoted  ministry  j  to  Jit  men  for  their 
office,  and  to  furnish  the  churches  with  men  of  sense,  and 
piety,  and  learning.  Ministers  enough  of  some  order  there  will 
be.  Every  land  is  furnished  with  priests  of  religion ;  and  the 
number  of  such  priests  is  in  exact  ratio  to  the  ignorance  of  the 
people,  and  the  corruption  of  the  form  of  religion.  Infidelity 
has  its  priest  in  every  man,  who  is  sworn,  by  his  talent  and 
influence,  to  propagate  the  scheme.  Paganism  has  its  thou 
sands  of  altars,  and  its  array  of  priests  to  attend  on  every 
altar.  In  France,  under  the  Romish  Church,  four  hundred 
thousand,  or  one  man  in  every  sixty-two  of  the  inhabitants, 
are  ecclesiastics ;  in  Spain,  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand, 
or  one  in  every  sixty-one  of  the  population,  are  supported  by 
the  church ;  and  so,  under  the  same  system,  it  will  be  in  this 
country,  unless  Protestants  betake  themselves  to  their  duty, 
and  train  up  men  well  qualified  for  the  ministry.  Every  man 
knows,  also,  that  ignorant  and  unqualified  preachers  abound 
in  all  Christian  denominations.  The  question  is  not,  whether 
there  will  be  ministers  of  religion.  It  is,  whether  they  shall 
be  qualified  for  their  work ;  whether  the  Protestant  churches 
of  this  land  will  train  men  for  the  holy  office ;  or  whether  the 
disciples  of  fanaticism  and  of  ignorance,  the  high-priests 


THE    CHRISTIAN  MINISTRY.  121 

of  infidelity,  and  the  vast  array  of  secular  clergy,  and 
monks,  and  nuns,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Jesuit,  shall 
take  possession  of  the  country,  and  prey  like  the  locust  on 
the  avails  of  our  toil,  and  abide  in  the  dwelling-places  of 
our  wealth  and  our  arts.  The  Christian  world  has  but  to 
take  its  choice.  The  churches  have  the  great  question  before 
them.  It  is,  whether  this  land  shall  submit  to  the  teach 
ings  of  ignorance,  the  ravings  of  fanaticism,  the  dogma 
tisms  of  infidelity,  the  guidance  and  support  of  numberless 
hordes  of  Jesuits ;  or  to  the  instructions  of  a  pious,  educated, 
and  sober  ministry. 

Our  land  has  been  blessed  hitherto  with  the  toils  of 
holy  men.  They  live  in  memory,  and  in  the  fruits  of 
their  deeds. 

"  We  give  in  charge 

Their  names  to  the  sweet  lyre.     The  historic  muse, 
Proud  of  the  treasure,  marches  "with  it  down 
To  latest  times." 

We  seek  that  other  men  may  be  reared  to  occupy  the  place 
of  the  illustrious  and  the  pious  dead;  to  spread  the  triumphs 
of  the  gospel  through  all  the  vales,  and  in  all  the  hills  of  this 
land,  and  throughout  the  world.  No  more  deep-felt  and  ever- 
abiding  desire  dwells  in  our  bosoms,  than  that  revivals  of 
religion  may  diffuse  their  rich  and  peaceful  fruits  in  all  the 
mansions,  and  schools,  and  towns  of  our  republic.  We  have 
no  more  fervent  prayer  to  offer  for  the  land  which  gave  us 
birth,  and  which  has  been  rendered  sacred  by  the  blood  shed 
by  our  fathers,  and  by  the  prayers  which  they  offered,  and  by 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  than  that  it  may  be  continually 
blessed  with  the  ministrations  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  pro 
ducing  its  appropriate,  its  immediate  effect  on  the  souls  of 
men.  In  all  our  visions  of  the  future  glory  of  America;  all 

VOL.  I.  11 


122  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

our  conceptions  of  the  magnificence  of  our  power ;  the  monu 
ments  of  our  arts ;  the  blessings  of  our  liberty ;  we  anticipate; 
as  chiefest  and  brightest  in  the  splendid  prospect,  the  time 
when  the  gospel  of  peace  shall  be  borne  from  the  lips  of  every 
herald  of  salvation,  with  the  directness  and  power  which  have 
crowned  it  in  the  days  of  our  Edwardses,  our  Tennants,  our 
Dwights,  and  our  Paysons. 


THE   WORKS   OF   LORD   BACON.  123 


III. 

[CHKISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1832.J 

The  Works  of  Lord  Bacon.     Four  vols.  fol.     London  :  1730. 

THE  connection  between  philosophy  and  theology  has  been 
felt  and  acknowledged  in  all  ages.  Most  Christians  have 
deplored  the  influence  of  the  former  upon  the  latter ;  but  even 
those  who  have  been  loudest  in  their  complaints,  and  strongest 
in  their  expressions  of  grief  on  this  account,  have  given  often 
the  most  melancholy  proofs  of  this  very  influence.  In  view 
of  this  long  and  intimate  union,  however,  and  of  the  fact  that 
philosophy  may  take  its  complexion  from  religion,  as  well  as 
religion  from  philosophy,  it  becomes  a  question  of  no  ordinary 
interest,  whether  God  did  not  intend  that  the  one  should  be 
perpetually  a  check  upon  the  other?  Did  he  not  design 
that  the  strange  tendency  in  philosophic  minds  to  perverse- 
ness,  pride,  and  atheism,  should  be  continually  restrained  by 
the  overawing  influence  of  the  proofs  of  religion  everywhere 
present  ?  And  did  he  not  intend,  also,  that  the  vagaries 
of  the  human  mind  in  religion,  the  romance  and  knight- 
errantry  of  theology — the  tendency  to  fanaticism,  and  dogma 
tism,  and  mysticism,  should  be  held  in  check  by  the  influence 
of  common  sense,  the  knowledge  of  the  true  laws  of  mind,  and 
the  investigations  of  science  from  age  to  age  ?  The  relation 
of  the  sciences — the  vinculum  commune  between  them,  was 
long  ago  remarked  by  Cicero.  The  mutual  influence  of 
modern  sciences  on  each  other,  and  of  all  on  religion,  is  a 
much  more  important  inquiry  to  a  Christian. 

We  have  neither  the  time  nor  ability  to  enter  into  a  full 
investigation  of  this  subject.  Nor  indeed  do  we  conceive  that 


124  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

a  detailed  inquiry  would  so  effectually  answer  the  end  we  have 
proposed  to  ourselves  in  our  work,  as  some  other  mode.  To 
meet  the  demands  of  the  present  state  of  theological  science, 
and  to  turn  theological  inquiries  to  the  best  practical  account, 
it  is  not  necessary,  in  our  view,  to  proceed  into  much  actual 
detail.  We  address  ourselves  to  an  age  of  inquiry.  We  speak 
in  our  pages  to  those  who,  we  believe,  are  qualified,  and  are 
disposed,  to  think  for  themselves.  We  contemplate  the  exist 
ence  of  no  barriers  to  investigation ;  no  fetters  to  free  inquiry ; 
nor  want  of  diligence  or  disposition  to  follow  out  any  train  of 
thought  which  may  be  suggested  for  practical  use.  It  is  our 
province  to  furnish  topics  for  such  inquiries ;  and  the  design 
which  we  have  in  view  in  our  labours  in  the  Christian  Spec 
tator,  will  not  have  been  accomplished  unless  we  have  laid  the 
foundation  for  investigation,  and  for  active  Christian  effort, 
long  after  our  humble  labours  on  earth  have  closed. 

It  is  under  the  influence  of  reflections  like  these,  that  we 
wish  to  call  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  works. of  Lord 
Bacon.  Our  object  will  be  accomplished  if  we  can  briefly 
exhibit  his  character;  and  can  state  the  influence  of  his 
writings  on  science,  and  the  kind  of  influence  which  the 
inductive  philosophy  is  destined  to  exert,  particularly  on  the 
science  of  theology. 

"  For  my  name  and  memory,"  said  Bacon  in  his  will, 
"I  leave  them  to  men's  charitable  speeches,  and  iQ foreign 
nations,  and  to  the  next  ages/'  The  reason  of  a  part  of  this 
remarkable  bequest  is  to  be  found  in  the  melancholy  fall  of 
this  illustrious  man,  to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  again  to 
advert.  In  the  close  of  the  bequest — the  legacy  of  his  name 
to  future  times — we  discover  proofs  of  the  same  consciousness 
of  immortality  that  prompted  Milton  to  compose  a  work  that 
the  world  "  should  not  willingly  let  die."  Yet  more  than 
two  centuries  have  passed  away,  and  we  have  as  yet  no  well- 
written  biography  of  this  greatest  of  British  philosophers. 


THE   WORKS    OF   LORD   BACON.  125 

• 

Till  within  a  year,  indeed,  we  had  nothing  that  deserved  to 
be  called  a  life  of  Newton.  Still  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable, 
that  no  one,  prompted  either  by  fame  or  usefulness,  has  pre 
sented  to  us  a  biography  of  such  a  man  as  Bacon.  In  the 
whole  range  of  literature  there  is  not  a  finer  unoccupied  field 
than  would  be  presented  in  the  attempt  to  give  the  public  a 
well-written  account  of  the  author  of  the  Novum  Organum ; 
of  the  state  of  science  at  the  time  he  lived,  and  of  his  influ 
ence  on  the  interests  of  science,  of  literature,  and  of  religion. 
Yet,  perhaps,  we  shall  ever  be  compelled  to  regret,  in  regard 
to  him, — a  thing  by  no  means  uncommon  in  biography, — that 
of  his  peculiar  habits  of  life,  his  changes  of  opinion,  the  pro 
gress  of  his  discoveries,  and  their  immediate  influence  on  men, 
we  are  to  know  nothing  but  a  few  most  meagre  facts  which 
have  been  rescued  from  oblivion. 

There  is  another  remark  which  we  are  here  compelled  to 
make  respecting  the  works  of  Bacon.  Few  modern  scholars, 
we  fear,  are  acquainted  with  them, — even  with  the  Novum 
Organum.  The  study  of  them  requires  more  time,  patience, 
industry,  perhaps  conscience,  than  most  men  of  modern  habits 
are  willing  to  appropriate  to  them.  Bacon  is  regarded  as  be 
longing  to  a  distant  age  and  to  long-past  times,  and  though 
his  name  is  in  every  one's  mouth,  and  his  praises  in  all 
nations  ]  yet  how  few  are  there  who  could  give  an  intelligent 
account  of  his  principles  of  philosophy  !  How  few  theologians, 
we  are  compelled  to  ask,  have  ever  looked  for  a  moment  at  the 
Novum  Organum  ?  Yet  we  are  aware  of  its  difficulty;  and  we 
are  not  disposed  to  utter  the  language  of  complaint  against  the 
men  of  our  own  times.  "We  are  convinced  that  though  our 
generation  should  not  sit  down  to  the  formal  perusal  and 
study  of  this  profound  work,  yet  there  has  gone  forth  from  it 
an  influence  which  reaches  our  age,  and  that  we  are,  though 
unconsciously,  reaping  its  benefits,  as  the  Nile  long  shed  fer 
tility  on  the  fields  of  Egypt,  while  the  source  of  its  waters 

11* 


126  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

• 

was  unknown ;  and  as  the  rain  and  light  of  heaven  diffuse 
their  influence  over  the  earth,  while  that  influence  may  be  un 
noticed  or  forgotten.  It  has  been  asked  with  emphasis,  "  who 
now  reads  the  Rambler?"  And  it  is  indubitable  that  this 
book,  which  once  exerted  so  mighty  an  influence  on  the  Eng 
lish  language  and  people,  has  given  place,  at  least  in  general 
reading,  to  works  of  far  inferior  merit  and  interest.  The  reason 
seems  to  be,  that  its  object  is  well-nigh  accomplished.  It 
commenced  with  a  standard  of  morals  and  language  elevated 
far  above  the  prevailing  style  of  morals  and  of  writing.  It 
has  elevated  both,  and  has  brought  the  English  language  and 
notions  of  morality  to  its  own  level.  Nor  is  it  wonderful  that 
men  should  regard  with  less  interest  a  work  which  now  is  seen 
to  have  no  very  extraordinary  elevation.  It  is  a  component 
part  of  English  literature,  having  fixed  itself  in  the  language, 
the  style,  and  the  morals  of  the  English  people,  and  taken  its 
place  as  an  integral  and  almost  undistinguished  part  of  the 
national  principles  of  writing  and  morality.  The  result  is, 
that  while  the  benefits  of  the  Rambler  may  be  diffusing  them 
selves,  unperceived,  to  almost  all  the  endearments  of  the  fire 
side  and  virtues  of  the  community,  the  book  itself  may  be 
very  imperfectly  known,  and  unfrequently  perused.  Johnson 
may  be  almost  forgotten,  except  in  praise ;  but  his  mighty 
power  is  yet  sending  forth  a  mild  influence  over  lands  and  seas, 
like  the  gentle  movements  of  the  dew  and  the  sunbeam.  The 
same  is  true  of  Bacon.  He  has  incorporated  himself  into  all 
our  science.  He  has  imbedded  his  principles  in  the  very 
foundation  of  all  our  improvements  in  astronomy,  natural  phi 
losophy,  and  chemistry,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  of  mental 
science  and  theology.  It  is  related  of  Phidias,  that  in  con 
structing  the  statue  of  Minerva  at  Athens,  he  so  wrought 
his  own  image  into  her  shield  that  it  could  not  be  removed 
without  destroying  the  statue.  Thus  Johnson  has  wrought 
himself  into  our  language  and  morals ; — and  Bacon  into  our 


THE   WOBKS    OP   LORD   BACON.  127 

science.  We  have  often  endeavoured  to  follow  out  the  effect 
of  his  labours,  by  taking  our  present  science  and  literature, 
and  attempting  to  go  back  and  remove  step  by  step,  year  by 
year,  and  age  by  age,  all  that  may  have  resulted  from  the 
influence  of  the  "Installation  of  Learning,"  by  Bacon. — No 
one  can  be  aware  of  what  he  owes  to  that  man,  who  is  not 
able  to  thread  all  these  mazes,  and  to  trace  all  the  unseen 
progress  of  his  principles  that  have  thus  found  their  way, 
though  from  an  unknown  benefactor,  into  English  science  and 
literature. 

The  leading  facts  of  Bacon's  life  are  soon  told.  He  was 
born  on  the  22d  day  of  January,  1560.  At  an  early  age  he 
graduated  at  Cambridge,  and  after  having  travelled  for  some 
time  on  the  Continent,  became  a  student  at  law,  and  was  at 
the  usual  period  admitted  to  practice.  During  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  in  consequence  of  having  rivals  and  enemies  at 
court,  he  was  either  overlooked,  or  purposely  prevented  from 
obtaining  offices  of  standing  and  honour.  This  period  of  his 
life  was  passed  chiefly  in  the  practice  of  the  law ;  in  writing 
some  treatises  on  jurisprudence;  and  in  preparation  for  the 
more  elevated  offices  in  the  government  which  he  afterward 
filled,  and  the  more  important  advances  in  the  sciences  which 
he  was  destined  ultimately  to  make.  But  though  he  was 
thus  neglected  by  Elizabeth,  and  undistinguished  by  any 
external  and  substantial  marks  of  her  favour,  he  was  often 
admitted  as  her  counsellor,  and  enjoyed  to  a  considerable 
degree  her  confidence.  On  the  accession  of  James  I.,  Bacon 
advanced  rapidly  through  various  offices  in  the  gift  of  the 
crown.  Of  James  he  says  in  a  letter  to  him,  that  "he  had 
raised  and  advanced  him  nine  times :  thrice  in  dignity,  and 
six  times  in  office."  He  was  successively  counsellor  extra 
ordinary  to  his  majesty;  king's  solicitor-general;  attorney- 
general  ;  counsellor  of  state ;  lord-keeper  of  the  great  seal ;  and 
lord  chancellor.  From  this  last  office  he  was  degraded  for 


128  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

corruption,  after  having  held  it  two  years,  and  devoted  the 
remainder  of  his  life  to  the  pursuits  of  philosophy.  During 
this  period  of  four  years,  his  principal  philosophical  works 
were  written.  He  died  on  the  9th  of  April,  1636. 

There  is  little  pertaining  to  the  early  life  and  actions  of 
this  illustrious  man,  on  which  we  wish  to  offer  any  remarks. 
Indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  present  to  our  readers  any  thing- 
like  a  just  biography  of  his  early  years.  There  are  no  memo 
rials  of  those  years ;  no  records  of  his  mode  of  study,  and  his 
advances  in  science ;  of  his  changes  of  views,  and  his  projects 
of  ambition ;  nothing  that  will  acquaint  us  with  the  manner 
by  which  his  mind  was  trained  to  the  amazing  stature  which 
it  afterward  obtained.  Nothing  could  be  more  interesting  or 
useful  than  to  follow  out  the  development  of  such  an  intellect, 
and  to  trace  the  influence  of  external  causes,  and  internal 
principles  and  emotions,  in  framing  a  character  whose  influ 
ence  has  been  already  felt  in  all  the  departments  of  science 
and  of  morals.  But  we  are  doomed  to  sigh  unavailingly  over 
the  lamentable  defects  of  the  biography  of  illustrious  men. 
One  hint  only  is  recorded,  which  sheds  some  light  on  the 
development  of  his  early  powers.  It  is  said  of  him  that  at 
the  early  age  of  sixteen  years,  while  at  the  university,  "  he 
fell  into  the  dislike  of  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle ;  not  for  the 
worthlessness  of  the  author,  to  whom  he  would  ever  ascribe  all 
high  attributes,  but  for  the  unfruitfulness  of  the  way,  being  a 
philosophy  only  strong  for  contentions  and  disputations,  but 
barren  of  the  productions  of  works  for  the  benefit  of  the  life 
of  man/'  At  a  time  when  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle  was 
enthroned  in  the  universities  of  Europe ;  when  his  decision 
was  law  in  all  the  investigations  of  philosophy;  when  for 
almost  two  thousand  years  he  had  swayed  ah  undisputed 
sceptre  over  all  that  part  of  the  world  which  claimed  to  be 
civilized,  it  was  no  slight  indication  of  independence  of  mind 
even  to  doubt  the  infallibility  of  his  decisions,  and  no  unpro- 


THE    WORKS    OF    LORD    BACON.  129 

mising  omen  of  the  advance  which  was  afterward  to  bo  made 
by  him  in  the  sciences.  Aristotle  and  Bacon  now  stand  at  the 
head  of  the  two  great  sects  of  philosophers  that  have  divided 
mankind.  It  was  the  high  honour  of  the  one,  that  mankind 
for  ages  yielded  their  heads  and  hearts  to  his  decisions,  and 
bowed  to  his  authority.  It  was  the  unrivalled  glory  of  the 
other,  that  he  displaced  him  from  his  proud  elevation,  and 
introduced  a  new  method  of  investigating  truth,  that  has 
forever  broken  the  sceptre  which  the  philosopher  of  Greece 
so  long  swayed  over  mankind. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  offer  any  remarks  on  the  character 
of  Bacon  as  a  lawyer.  He  was  the  rival  of  Coke ;  and  it  is 
not  easy  to  estimate  which  of  the  two  was  the  more  eminent 
man  in  this  department  of  human  science.  Had  Bacon  con 
fined  his  researches  to  that  which  seems  to  have  limited  the 
ambition  of  Coke,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  more  moment  to 
institute  the  comparison.  The  admirers  of  legal  attainments 
might  then  delight  to  inquire  which  of  these  two  men  was 
entitled  to  the  highest  honours  of  his  profession.  But  the 
name  of  Bacon  naturally  suggests  to  us  far  different  attain 
ments  from  those  which  adorned  the  bar  or  the  bench.  We 
forget  the  robes  of  the  lawyer,  and  the  dignity  of  the  ermine. 
The  advocate,  the  counsellor,  the  chancellor,  the  titles  of 
nobility  are  lost  in  the  profound  attainments  of  the  man 
of  science,  and  the  restorer  of  learning.  We  may  just  remark, 
however,  that  the  united  testimony  of  Bacon's  contemporaries 
award  to  him  the  highest  attainments  as  a  lawyer,  and  a  full, 
rich,  and  flowing  eloquence,  that  placed  him  deservedly  beside 
the  Roman  pleader ;  and  that,  while  he  was  speaking,  "  the 
only  fear  was  lest  he  should  make  an  end."  Of  the  correct 
ness  of  his  legal  opinions  and  decisions,  as  chancellor,  we 
have  the  highest  proof  that  has  ever  been  furnished  in  any 
case.  Though  he  was  accused  and  convicted  of  receiving 
bribes ;  though  he  confessed  the  crime,  and  was  sentenced  to 


130  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

a  heavy  penalty  ;  and  though  some  were  given  pendentc  lite, 
and  probably  with  the  express  intention  on  the  part  of  those 
who  offered  them  to  influence  his  decision  in  their  favour,  yet 
it  is  recorded  to  his  lasting  honour,  and  it  comes  to  us  as  a 
solace  when  we  think  of  the  fate  of  this  illustrious  man,  that 
not  one  of  his  decisions  was  reversed  or  called  in  question 
as  unjust. 

Bacon  was  not  only  a  man  of  profound  legal  attainments, 
but  also  eminent  in  the  various  departments  of  general  litera 
ture.  With  the  classic  purity  and  elegance  of  his  Latin  style, 
every  man  must  be  struck  who  has  read  the  Novum  Organum. 
But  we  feel  more  interest  in  remarking,  that  there  is  nowhere 
to  be  found  a  better  exhibition  of  the  power  of  the  English 
language,  than  in  his  prose  writings.  For  manliness  and 
strength ;  for  purity  and  occasional  elegance  of  diction  •  for 
copious  and  varied  illustration  ;  for  terseness,  compactness, 
and  the  absence  of  all  expletives,  and  the  use  of  such  words 
and  phrases  as  leave  the  thought  clear  and  transparent  to  the 
view,  we  know  not  where  there  can  be  found  better  models 
than  his  Essays.  Less  full  and  flowing  than  Milton;  less 
dense  and  compact,  perhaps,  than  Butler;  less  filled  with 
varied  imagery,  and  the  creations  of  fancy,  than  Taylor ;  less 
argumentative  and  stately,  it  may  be,  than  Barrow ;  and  less 
majestic  and  pompous  than  Johnson,  he  had  yet  in  a  rare 
union  what  we  most  admire  in  all.  He  has  placed  on  his 
pages,  in  wonderful  combination,  those  excellencies  of  style 
which  have  given  immortality  to  so  many  other  men.  And 
if  any  one  wishes  to  understand  the  beauty  and  force  of  the 
English  language,  we  know  not  how  he  can  better  do  so  than 
by  becoming  familiar  with  the  writings  of  this  illustrious  man. 
Nor  was  his  excellence  in  this  respect  apparently  a  matter  of 
particular  study.  His  mind  was  full  of  thought,  and  he  gave 
utterance  to  his  thoughts  in  pure  and  majestic  English,  that 
makes  us  love  our  language  more,  and  exult  in  the  possession 


THE    WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  131 

of  so  noble  a  medium  of  conveying  the  loftiest  conceptions 
and  the  most  enlarged  philosophy  to  mankind. 

But  it  is  not  as  a  lawyer,  or  a  man  of  literature,  that  we 
wish  now  to  contemplate  this  illustrious  man.  We  wish  to 
look  at  the  influence  of  his  philosophy  on  that  holy  cause  to 
which  our  pages  are  consecrated.  We  believe  that  this  influ 
ence  has  gone  far,  and  is  destined  to  go  still  farther,  into  all 
the  departments  of  Christian  theology.  We  believe  it  is  in 
evitable  that  the  prevailing  philosophy  shall  exert  a  wide 
influence  over  the  theology  of  our  age.  We  do  not  doubt  that 
it  ought  to  do  so.  Not  that  it  is  to  control  the  Bible,  or  set 
aside  its  decisions,  but  that  it  is  to  hold  in  check  certain 
vagaries  of  the  human  mind,  which  bigots,  and  zealots,  and 
theological  antiquarians  would  persuade  us  are  conformed  not 
only  to  the  tradition  of  the  elders,  but  to  the  testimony  of  the 
Scriptures  themselves.  There  is  a  wonderful  charm  to  many 
minds  in  a  theological  dogma,  where  it  can  be  pretended  that 
it  has  been  held  "  time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth 
not  to  the  contrary."  And  there  is  a  marvellous  shrinking, 
and  expression  of  abhorrence,  when  philosophical  dogma  is 
summoned  to  meet  dogma,  and  the  rules  of  a  correct  philo 
sophy  are  employed  to  uncauonize  and  dethrone  these  elements 
of  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  Our  remarks,  then,  are  designed  to 
lead  to  a  just  estimate  of  the  influence  of  the  philosophy  of 
Bacon  on  the  science  of  Europe ;  of  his  religious  character ; 
of  the  applicability  of  his  philosophy  to  theology;  and  the 
effect  which  would  be  produced  by  an  unsparing  application 
of  those  principles  to  the  theology  of  modern  times. 

We  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  enter  at  large  into  the 
inquiry  about  the  state  of  science  when  Bacon  wrote  his 
Novum  Organum.  There  are  two  great  departments  of  know 
ledge  on  which  such  a  mind  would  act — the  one  pertaining  to 
the  physical  sciences,  the  other  embracing  the  vast  depart 
ment  comprehended  under  the  general  term  of  metaphysics.  We 


132  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

have  given  a  full  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  latter  when 
we  say,  that  this  entire  department  was,  till  the  time  of  Bacon, 
under  the  influence  of  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle.*  He  reigned 
in  the  schools ;  he  controlled  the  systems  recorded  in  the  books ; 
he  fixed  the  metes  and  bounds  of  inquiry ;  he  swayed  a  sceptre 
over  the  entire  invisible  world  into  which  man  might  be  dis 
posed  to  push  his  investigations.  More  than  all,  this  philo 
sophy  had  incorporated  itself  with  all  the  religious  dogmas 
of  Europe,  and  was  imposed  on  the  belief  of  men  with  all  the 
sanctions  of  the  most  terrific  and  iron-featured  superstition 
that  has  ever  extended  a  sceptre  of  night  over  the  world. 
During  centuries  of  darkness  this  system  had  been  compacted, 
and  with  infinite  toil  of  profound  metaphysicians  had  received 
its  shape, 

"  If  shape  it  might  be  called,  that  shape  had  none 
Distinguishable  in  member,  joint,  or  limb  ; 
Or  substance  might  be  called  that  shadow  seemed." 

It  is  common  now  to  speak  of  the  system  with  contempt.     "We 

*  "Toward  the  close  of  the  fifth  century,  the  influence  of  Aristotle 
began  to  prevail  over  that  of  Plato  in  the  Christian  world.  After  consi 
derably  declining  in  the  sixth  century,  it  again  revived ;  and  in  another 
century  it  had  gained  such  an  ascendency,  that  Aristotle  seems  every 
where  to  have  been  triumphant.  Glosses,  paraphrases,  summaries,  argu 
ments,  and  dissertations  on  his  works,  were  composed  without  end,  as  if  to 
make  darkness  visible.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  West  learned 
Arabic,  in  order  to  read  a  translation  of  them  into  that  language.  Men 
were  everywhere  taught  to  believe  in  matter,  form,  and  privation,  as  the 
origin  of  all  things ;  that  the  heavens  were  self-existent,  incorruptible,  and 
unchangeable:  and  that  all  the  stars  were  whirled  around  the  earth  in 
solid  orbs.  Aristotle's  works  were  the  great  text-book  of  knowledge,  and 
his  logic  was  the  only  weapon  of  truth.  Christians,  Jews,  and  Moham 
medans  united  in  professing  assent  to  the  great  lawgiver  of  human 
opinions ;  not  Europe  alone,  but  also  Africa  and  Asia,  acknowledged  his 
dominion ;  and  while  his  Greek  originals  were  studied  at  Paris,  transla 
tions  were  read  in  Persia  and  Samarcand." — Brougham's  Account  of  Bacon's 
Novum  Oryanum, 


THE   WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  133 

despise  it  because  it  Las  passed  out  of  view,  and  we  deem  it 
not  worth  inquiry.  We  look  on  it  as  we  do  on  desert  sands 
which  we  are  not  bound  to  traverse ;  and  on  dark  and  pesti 
lential  and  frightful  abodes  which  we  are  afraid  to  enter. 
But  they  who  have  looked  at  the  system  are  the  last  to  hold 
it  in  contempt  as  an  effort  of  profound  and  subtle  argumenta 
tion,  and  the  last  to  wonder  that  it  exerted  such  an  amazing 
influence  on  mankind.  We  have  only  to  remember  that  it 
required  the  best  part  of  a  man's  life  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  dialectics  of  Aristotle  and  his  commentators ;  that  it 
was  deemed  indispensable  to  education  to  be  master  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  schools ;  that  it  was  linked  by  a  thousand 
ties  to  the  reigning  superstition  j  that  the  colossal  power 
of  the  Roman  See  was  sustained  chiefly  by  the  prevalence 
of  this  philosophy;  and  that  to  doubt  the  dogmas  of  that 
superstition,  and  of  course  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle,  sub 
jected  a  man  to  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition, — and  we 
shall  cease  to  wonder  that  it  so  long  swayed  its  sceptre  over 
mankind. 

The  Reformation  had  made  an  incipient  aggression  on  the 
authority  of  the  Stagyrite,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Re 
formers  had  defied  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican.  But  no 
mighty  genius  had  yet  arisen  who  was  competent  to  strike  an 
effectual  blow  at  its  colossal  power.  It  was  reserved  for 
Bacon  to  put  an  end  forever  to  the  system,  and  to  introduce  a 
method  of  inquiry  which  was  to  annihilate  the  dominion  of 
Aristotle.  At  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
called  in  question  the  correctness  of  this  mode  of  investiga 
tion  ;  and  his  philosophical  life  was  little  more  than  an  effort 
to  rescue  the  world  from  the  protracted  tyranny,  and  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  a  nobler  method  of  inquiry. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  difference  between  Aristotle 
and  Bacon  related  to  the  proper  mode  of  investigating  truth. 
The  philosophy  of  the  schools  dealt  in  abstractions.  It  did 

VOL.  I.  12 


184  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

not  look  at  facts,  but  at  theories ;  not  at  visible  and  tangible 
realities,  but  at  fancied  essences;  not  at  the  world  as  it  is,  but 
at  an  ideal  world ;  not  at  things  which  God  had  formed,  but 
at  the  creations  of  a  subtle  and  refined  philosophy,  which  age 
after  age  had  laboured  to  reduce  to  consistency  and  to  form 
The  designs  and  labours  of  the  schoolmen  we  cannot  better 
present  than  in  the  words  of  Bacon  : 

"Surely  like  as  many  substances  in  nature  which  are  solid,  and 
do  putrify  and  corrupt  worms ;  so  it  is  the  property  of  good  and 
sound  knowledge  to  putrify,  and  dissolve  into  a  number  of  subtle, 
unwholesome,  and  (as  I  might  term  them)  vermiculate  questions, 
which,  indeed,  have  a  kind  of  quickness,  and  life  of  spirit,  but  no 
soundness  of  matter,  or  goodness  of  quality.  This  kind  of  dogmatic 
learning  did  chiefly  reign  among  the  schoolmen,  who  having  sharp 
and  strong  wits,  and  abundance  of  leisure,  and  little  variety  of 
reading,  but  their  wits  being  shut  up  in  the  cells  of  a  few  authors, 
(chieflly  Aristotle,  their  dictator,)  as  their  persons  were  shut  up  in 
the  cells  of  monasteries  and  colleges,  and  knowing  little  history 
either  of  nature  or  time,  did  out  of  no  great  quantity  of  matter, 
and  infinite  agitation  of  wit,  spin  out  into  those  laborious  webs 
of  learning  which  are  extant  in  their  books.  For  the  wit  and  mind 
of  man,  if  it  work  upon  matter,  which  is  the  contemplation  of  the 
creatures  ,of  God,  worketh  according  to  the  stuff,  and  is  limited 
thereby;  but  if  it  work  upon  itself,  as  the  spider  worketh  his  web, 
then  it  is  endless,  and  brings  forth  indeed  cobwebs  of  learning, 
admirable  for  the  thread  and  work,  but  of  no  substance  and  pro 
fit." — Advancement  of  Learning,,  vol.  ii.  p.  428. 

Yet,  in  regard  to  their  talent,  Bacon  renders  the  following 
just  acknowledgment. 

"  Notwithstanding,  certain  it  is,  that  if  the  schoolmen,  to  their 
great  thirst  of  truth  and  unwearied  travel  of  wit,  had  joined  variety 
and  universality  of  reading  and  contemplation,  they  hud  proved 
excellent  lights,  to  the  great  advancement  of  all  learning  and  know 
ledge  ;  but,  as  they  are,  they  are  great  undertakers  indeed,  and 
fierce  with  dark  seeking.  But  as  in  the  inquiry  of  the  divine  truth, 
their  pride  inclined  them  to  leave  the  oracle  of  God's  word,  and 


THE   WORKS    OF   LOUD    BACON.  135 

to  varnish  in  the  mixture  of  their  own  inventions ;  so  in  the  inqui 
sition  of  nature,  they  ever  left  the  oracle  of  God's  works,  and  adored 
the  deceiving  and  deformed  images,  which  the  unequal  mirror  of 
their  own  minds,  or  a  few  received  authors  or  principles  did  re 
present  unto  them." — Vol.  ii.  p.  429. 

One  can  scarcely  help  reflecting  here,  what  an  amazing  ad 
vance  the  unwearied  toils  of  the  schoolmen  might  have  made, 
had  their  efforts  been  directed  by  some  such  work  as  the 
Novum  Organum.  Had  the  profound  talent  of  Duns  Scotus 
been  employed  on  the  works  of  nature,  or  in  investigating  the 
properties  of  mind  in  any  useful  way,  it  is  possible  that  wo 
might  never  have  heard  the  names  of  Bacon,  Locke,  or 
Newton,  or  have  heard  of  them  only  as  carrying  the  dis 
coveries  of  science  far  into  the  regions  that  are  now  untrodden 
by  living  men,  and  clothed,  to  human  view,  in  the  shades  of 
profound  and  "  ever-during  darkness." 

We  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  state  of  science 
in  Europe  when  Bacon  lived.  We  have  not  room  to  do  it. 
Those  who  wish  for  detail  on  this  subject — perhaps  the  most 
interesting  that  the  history  of  mind  and  opinions  furnishes — 
will  find  it  in  the  works  which  have,  in  modern  times,  at 
tempted  to  establish  just  views  of  mental  and  moral  science. 
Reid  and  Stewart  have  presented  this  in  ample  detail. 

The  grand  achievement  of  Bacon  was  to  break  the  power 
of  this  despotism  over  mind.  To  this  work  no  small  part 
of  his  active  life  was  devoted.  In  the  midst  of  the  toils  of 
office  and  of  law,  while  seeking  for  preferment  at  the  feet 
of  his  sovereign,  (for  this  was  the  grand  foible  of  this  illus 
trious  man,)  and  while  discharging  the  duties  of  a  profession 
which  at  all  times  has  been  deemed  enough  to  occupy  the 
time  and  energies  of  the  profoundest  and  most  active  minds, 
did  this  distinguished  lawyer  lay  the  foundation  of  that  system 
on  which  now  rests  his  fame.  He  then  conceived  and  di 
gested  the  plan  of  his  great  work  on  the  Advancement  of 


136  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

Learning;  and  he  had  so  looked  over  the  field  of  human 
science ;  so  estimated  its  defects  and  its  wants ;  and  so  con 
templated  the  objects  at  which  science  should  aim,  that 
nothing  was  needed  but  a  few  years  of  leisure  to  establish 
principles  which  should  ultimately  change  the  entire  aspect 
of  human  science  and  opinions. 

It  is  to  one  of  those  strange  and  mysterious  events  which 
we  are  perpetually  called  upon  to  deplore  in  the  history 
of  man,  that  we  owe  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  design. 
"While  making  these  preparations,  Bacon  was  in  the  enjoy 
ment  of  offices  and  preferments  that  would  have  satisfied  any 
man  of  moderate  ambition.  But  he  sought  a  seat  near  the 
ear  of  majesty,  and  aspired  to  the  highest  offices  to  which  a 
British  subject  can  be  elevated.  He  obtained  his  wishes; 
James  advanced  him.  to  the  dignity  of  lord  chancellor;  and 
conferred  on  him  the  keeping  of  the  great  seal  of  England. 
Had  his  life  been  spent  in  the  duties  of  that  high  office,  it  is 
probable  that  his  name  would  have  been  known  to  us,  if  at  all, 
only  in  British  heraldry,  or  in  the  books  and  records  of  juris 
prudence.  But  this  illustrious  man,  to  use  an  expression 
applied  by  the  profligate  Horace  "Walpole  to  every  man,  "  had 
his  price ;"  and,  in  two  years,  the  chancellor  of  Great  Britain 
was  degraded  from  his  office;  fined  to  the  amount  of  fifty 
thousand  pounds ;  sentenced  to  be  imprisoned  at  the  king's 
pleasure ;  and  forever  excluded  from  holding  any  office  under 
the  British  government.  Of  the  justice  of  this  sentence — 
which,  so  far  as  the  fine  and  imprisonment  were  concerned,  was 
soon  remitted — no  one  ever  entertained  a  doubt.  Of  the  nature 
of  the  offence,  and  the  influence  which  it  should  have  in  form 
ing  an  estimate  of  his  character,  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
speak  in  the  course  of  this  article. 

After  a  fall  like  this,  most  men  would  have  abandoned 
every  effort ;  and,  sunk  in  hopeless  despondency,  would  have 
blushed  to  give  publicity  to  their  names  even  by  the  most 


THE   WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  137 

splendid  discoveries  of  science.  After  such  a  fall  most  of  the 
ancients  would  have  put  a  period  to  their  lives.  Cato  fell  by 
his  own  hand,  unaccuscd  of  the  crime  that  dishonours  the 
name  of  Bacon ;  and  Cassius  sought  his  own  death  amid  mis 
fortunes  that,  to  a  sensitive  mind,  would  have  been  less  over 
whelming,  than  was  this  degradation  to  the  chancellor  of 
England.  But  it  was  here,  that  the  nobleness,  and,  we  hope, 
the  religion  also,  of  this  illustrious  man  triumphed.  He  gave 
himself  not  up  to  despondency.  He  laid  aside  the  insignia 
of  office,  and  sought  honours  beyond  what  the  courts  or  cabi 
nets  of  kings  could  ever  bestow. 

After  his  deposition  from  ofijce,  Bacon  lived  about  five  years. 
The  closing  years  of  his  life  he  gave  entirely  to  the  pursuits 
of  philosophy,  and  the  perfecting  and  completing  of  his  great 
works  on  science.  During  this  period  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  ever  sighed  for  the  honours  which  he  had  once  so  ardently 
sought,  or  that  he  ever  wept  over  the  favours  of  royalty  which 
he  had  so  ignominiously  lost.  His  great  mind  sought  em 
ployment  in  contemplating  the  advances  which  science  might 
make,  and  in  laying  the  foundation  for  those  astonishing 
improvements  which  science  in  all  its  departments  has  since 
made. 

The  principles  of  the  inductive  philosophy,  which  Bacon 
reduced  to  a  system,  if  he  did  not  originate,  are  easily  told 
and  easily  understood.  To  us,  therefore,  at  the  present  day, 
it  is  not  very  easy  to  understand  why  the  establishment  of 
such  a  system  should  have  given  to  him  a  celebrity  which 
surpasses  all  that  had  before  been  regarded  as  great  among 
men.  To  understand  it,  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  back  to 
the  early  periods  of  science,  to  watch  its  slow  advances,  to 
look  at  the  mistakes  which  have  been  made  in  all  the  eras 
of  philosophy.  At  every  step,  we  should  pause  and  wonder 
that  the  obvious  principles  of  the  inductive  method  should 
not  sooner  have  presented  themselves  to  men.  At  almost 

12* 


138  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

every  step  we  should  see  philosophy  approaching  the  very 
principles  of  the  Novum  Orgamim  •  we  should  see  men  half 
disposed  to  leave  the  trammels  of  theories,  and  to  go  forth  in 
the  manliness  of  just  philosophic  inquiry  to  look  at  nature  as 
she  is%;  and  at  every  step  we  should  be  amazed  that  men  drew 
back  from  these  obvious  paths  of  inquiry,  and  retreated  into 
the  dark  shades  and  bewildering  paths  of  abstract  speculation. 
This  tendency  of  the  human  mind  to  frame  theories,  rather 
than  to  look  at  facts,  to  forsake  the  obvious  and  plain  paths 
of  inquiry  for  vain  and  delusive  vagaries,  we  regard  both  in 
the  scientific  and  theological  world,  as  one  of  the  most  remark 
able  and  melancholy  perversities  of  the  human  intellect  any 
where  presented  in  the  history  of  the  race. 

There  are  but  two  ways  of  attempting  to  understand  the 
works  of  nature,  or  of  ascertaining  the  relations  and  properties 
of  things.  One  is  for  the  philosopher  to  sit  down  in  his  grove 
or  closet,  and  attempt  to  frame  in  his  own  mind  what  nature 
ought  to  be ;  the  other,  to  become  the  interpreter  of  nature, 
and  to  tell  the  world  what  she  is.  The  one  attempts,  on 
the  basis  of  a  few  facts  imperfectly  ascertained,  isolated  in 
their  character,  and  little  understood  in  their  connections,  to 
frame  a  theory  that  shall  account  for  all  the  facts  in  the  world, 
and  to  construct  a  bed  of  Procrustes  to  reduce  all  the  theories 
and  facts  to  the  same  dimensions  \  the  other  approaches  the 
works  of  creation  as  the  Son  of  God  directed  his  disciples  to 
come  to  him,  with  the  spirit  of  little  children,  and  humbly  to 
sit  down  at  his  feet.  The  former  course  was  the  most  diffi 
cult,  the  least  obvious,  and  w;as  capable  of  being  made  to 
amaze  and  confound  the  intellects  of  men.  It  would  give  the 
longest  and  most  profound  employment  to  the  intellect ; 
would  most  effectually  separate  philosophers  from  other  men, 
and  introduce  what  men  of  philosophic  temperament  have 
commonly  sought — the  honours  of  caste  ; — an  elevation  above 
the  millions  of  humbler  mortals  beneath  their  feet.  This 


THE    WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  139 

strange  obliquity  of  the  human  mind  we  are  compelled  to 
trace,  country  after  country,  and  age  after  age,  in  the  history 
of  science.  It  is  constituted  alike  the  teaching  of  Aristotle, 
of  Pythagoras,  of  Plato.  The  only  man  in  antiquity  who 
seems  in  any  measure  to  have  been  free  from  it,  was  Socrates ; 
and  even  his  instructions  referred  almost  solely  to  morals. 
We  arc  often  led  to  wonder  at  the  little  advances  which 
science  made  in  antiquity.  We  go  to  Egypt,  the  parent 
of  civilization,  of  learning,  and  even  of  art.  What  has  ever 
been  found  there,  in  relation  to  the  sciences,  that  would 
entitle  her  to  the  very  lowest  place  now  in  our  schools  ?  When 
we  admire  the  monuments  of  her  power ;  when  we  look  upon 
her  pyramids,  or  enter  them  j  or  when  we  wander  among  the 
broken  columns  of  Thebes,  and  are  impressed  with  the  proofs 
of  her  vast  physical  power,  we  are  instinctively  prompted  to 
pause  and  ask;  where  are  the  monuments  of  her  science  ? 
What  advances  did  she  ever  make  in  the  knowledge  of  that 
which  could  ultimately  contribute  to  the  spread  of  true  know 
ledge  among  mankind  ?  Of  what  use  was  it  to  the  world  to 
construct  her  pyramids,  her  obelisks,  her  sphynxes,  or  her 
labyrinths  ?  The  playthings  of  kings,  fit  monuments  of  chil 
dren,  or  fit  tombs  of  mortals  who  could  seek  immortality  in 
them,  while  the  great  mass  of  intellect  beneath  them  grovelled 
in  the  most  revolting  idolatry,  and  only  lived  to  accomplish 
what  we  now  do  much  better  by  the  help  of  the  steam-engine. 
We  are  not  less  struck  with  the  absence  of  the  plainest 
principles  of  science  even  in  Greece  and  Rome.  We  do  not 
undervalue  classic  learning,  or  wish  to  banish  it  from  the 
schools.  Yet  we  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  almost  total 
want  in  the  classic  remains  of  antiquity,  of  any  very  valuable 
explanation  of  even  the  more  common  phenomena.  What  a 
conception  far,  far  beyond  the  loftiest  thoughts  of  antiquity, 
is  presented  by  the  simplest  truths  of  modern  astronomy? 
Though  this  science  among  the  Chaldeans,  the  Persians,  and 


140  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

the  Greeks,  was  that  to  which  most  attention  had  been  paid, 
and  on  which  they  would  probably  have  rested  their  highest 
claims  to  celebrity,  yet  to  what  did  it  amount  ?  To  a  few 
theories,  involved,  unintelligible,  and  undemonstrated,  about 
the  possible  order  in  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies ; 
to  the  formation,  with  infinite  toil  and  childish  care,  of  pic 
tures  of  the  heavens — arranging  the  stars  into  constellations, 
and  giving  them  outlines,  having  a  fanciful  resemblance  to 
some  object  among  animals  or  reptiles.  What  was  more  ob 
vious  in  the  healing  art,  than  to  approach  the  human  frame 
and  examine  it  by  dissection?  Yet  this  was  never  done. 
AVhat  more  plain  than  to  collect  facts  in  regard  to  diseases, 
and  arrange  them  by  patient  induction,  and  from  the  science 
of  physiology,  and  the  recorded  facts,  to  attempt  to  cure  men  ? 
Yet  the  ancient  practice  of  medicine  under  Galen,  and  in  the 
ancient  world,  was  simply  to  prevent  disease,  and  not  to  cure  it. 
By  rules  of  hygiene,  and  systems  of  dietetics,  they  sought  to 
parry  and  ward  off  the  attack,  and  were  strangers  to  the  art 
of  restoration.  One  of  the  most  obvious  and  amazing  in 
stances  of  the  want  of  science  in  antiquity,  related  to  the 
simplest  laws  of  hydrostatics.  The  aqueducts  of  Jerusalem, 
of  Rome,  and  of  Gaul — of  all  ancient  cities  and  towns,  are 
probably  among  the  most  striking  monuments  on  earth,  of  an 
entire  ignorance  of  the  most  simple  laws  of  science,  among 
people  so  refined  and  intelligent  as  they  are  acknowledged  to 
have  been.  So  amazing  has  it  appeared  that  one  of  the  sim 
plest  laws  of  hydrostatics  should  have  been  unknown  to  them, 
that  their  admirers  have  sought  in  vain  for  some  reasons 
of  pride  or  state,  to  account  for  such  vast  expenditures  in  sup 
plying  their  cities  with  water. 

The  ancients  knew  nothing  of  the  present  system  of  arith 
metic.  The  science  of  numbers  among  them  was  exceedingly 
complicated,  and  never  carried  beyond  what  to  us  are  its  sim 
plest  elements.  They  knew  nothing  of  algebra,  and,  of 


THE    WORKS    OF    LORD    BACON.  141 

course,  nothing  of  the  stupendous  calculations  to  which  it  has 
given  rise,  and  nothing  of  the  easy  and  extended  advances 
which  it  could  give  to  geometry.  They  had  not  learned  to 
simplify  profound  and  laborious  calculations  by  the  aid  of 
logarithms,  and  were  utter  strangers  to  fluxions.  They  had 
not  attained  to  any  just  mode  of  the  mensuration  of  the  earth; 
a  matter  of  so  great  moment  to  astronomy,  navigation,  and 
commerce.  They  had  not  been  made  acquainted  with  the 
mariner's  compass }  and  their  navigation  was  confined  to  nar 
row  streams,  or  to  the  vicinity  of  the  mainland.  The  laws 
of  gravitation  were  to  them  unknown ;  and,  of  course,  all  the 
science  and  all  the  useful  arts  now  dependant  on  those  laws. 
Nothing  can  be  more  complicated  or  unsatisfactory,  than  the 
cycles  and  epicycles  of  ancient  astronomy,  and  though  in  all 
this,  as  well  as  in  the  labours  of  Aristotle,  we  discern  proofs 
of  profound  talent  and  indefatigable  toil,  yet  we  find  also  con 
vincing  proofs  that  we  are  contemplating  there  what  Bacon 
insists  should  be  called  the  infancy,  and  not  the  antiquity 
of  the  world. 

We  are  struck  with  the  same  thing  in  the  mechanic  arts. 
The  application  of  water,  for  example,  to  turn  a  mill — a  thing 
so  obvious  to  us, — is  not  known  to  have  been  accomplished  in 
Greece,  and  was  not  attempted  at  Rome  till  near  the  age  of 
Augustus.  The  propulsion  of  the  saw  by  any  other  power 
than  by  the  hand,  was  a  novelty  in  England  so  late  as  the 
sixteenth  century.  Nothing  like  the  pump — an  instrument 
so  obvious  to  us — was  known  to  any  of  the  ancient  nations.* 

These  observations  might  be  extended  to  almost  any  length. 
But  it  is  sufficient  here  to  ask  of  any  student  of  the  ancient 
classics,  what  valuable  fact,  or  just  philosophic  theory  has  he 
ever  found  in  all  the  ponderous  tomes  that  have  travelled 
down  to  us  from  Greece  and  Rome  ?  For  what  single,  just 

*  Webster's  Lecture  before  the  Mechanics'  Institution. 


142  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

theory  is  he  indebted  to  all  the  master-spirits  of  the  ancient 
world  ?  We  have  often  been  amazed  at  the  slow  advances 
which  science  made.  With  all  that  we  admire  in  the  acute- 
ness  of  their  intellect,  the  richness  and  splendour  of  their  dic 
tion,  the  profoundness  of  their  moral  sayings,  the  grandeur  of 
their  military  achievements,  and  the  unrivalled  beauty  of  their 
specimens  of  art,  we  have  still  seen  that  there  was  some  mighty 
spell  over  all  their  attempts  at  science ;  that  there  was  some 
spirit  of  darkness  that  blasted  all  their  efforts,  and  withered 
their  energies,  and  completely  stayed  their  advances  in  the 
march  to  those  high  attainments  which  now  so  dignify  and 
ennoble  man.  We  know  no  reason  for  this  but  the  dominion 
which  a  love  of  theory  had  gained  in  all  the  nations  of  anti 
quity.  We  see  there  the  first  movements  of  that  despotism 
which  was  destined  to  reign  over  Europe  for  many  centuries, 
and  to  bury  at  last  in  one  common  grave  just  mental  philoso 
phy,  large  and  liberal  views,  national  freedom,  and  refinement, 
as  well  as  to  stay  all  advances  in  science  and  the  arts. 

We  might  also  apply  these  remarks  to  other  nations,  and 
we  should  find  the  same  fondness  for  theory  extending  itself, 
and  spreading  a  baleful  influence  over  all  the  efforts  of  science 
and  of  art.  It  is  customary  to  acknowledge  with  gratitude 
our  obligations  to  Arabia  for  some  of  the  most  important  ad 
vances  in  science,  particularly  the  science  of  chemistry.  It  is 
not  our  wish  to  lessen  this  feeling  of  gratitude.  But  we  can 
not  withhold  the  expression  of  our  regret,  that  the  principles 
of  the  philosophy  of  induction  were  unknown  to  the  Arabians. 
Even  in  that  land,  so  remote  for  a  long  time  from  the  influ 
ence  of  the  Aristotelian  philosophy,  we  discern  traces  of  the 
same  unhappy  tendency  first  to  construct  a  theory,  and  then 
to  examine  nature  to  establish  it.  The  Arabian  assumed  that 
all  metals  might  be  transmuted  into  gold.  He  framed  a 
theory  that  all  metallic  substances  could  be  traced  to  a  single 
basis,  and  that  the  purest  metals  could  be  produced  from  the 


THE   WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  143 

least  valuable.  Nature  was  subjected  to  tlie  torture,  to 
establish  this  theory ;  and  the  discoveries  which  were  actually 
made,  were  the  result  of  accident,  and  made,  not  because  they 
were  sought,  but  because  in  the  endless  investigations  which 
were  set  on  foot,  it  was  impossible  that  they  should  entirely 
escape  notice.  It  was  assumed  that  there  was  somewhere  an 
elixir  of  life,  a  universal  preventive  of  disease,  and  prolonger 
of  life.  To  discover  this,  was  the  object  of  the  toil  of  centu 
ries.  It  of  course  failed  \  but,  in  the  vain  and  Quixotic  effort, 
many  important  facts  could  not  but  force  themselves  on  the 
attention  of  mankind.  What  would  not  half  the  talent  and 
skill  expended  in  these  vain  and  fruitless  pursuits,  have  pro 
duced  under  a  happier  and  wiser  system  of  philosophy  ?  It  is 
needless  for  us  to  dwell  on  the  unhappy  influence  of  the  philo 
sophy  of  Aristotle  during  the  Middle  Ages.  There  never  has 
been  so  long  and  unbroken  a  spell  over  the  energies  of  man 
kind,  as  during  that  dismal  period.  The  human  mind  has  no 
where  else  exhibited  so  remarkable  a  perversity ;  nor  is  there 
anywhere  to  be  found  so  sad  a  commentary  on  the  influence 
of  a  false  philosophy.  Age  after  age  was  employed  in  com 
pacting  and  digesting  the  dark  and  terrible  system.  As  it 
came  from  the  hand  of  Aristotle,  it  had  much  to  command 
admiration.  It  was,  to  appearance,  a  harmless  system.  Had 
it  remained  in  Greece,  it  would  not,  probably,  have  greatly 
fettered  the  minds  of  men,  or  retarded  the  progress  of  science. 
The  truth  is,  that  the  philosophy  of  Plato,  and  Aristotle,  and 
Pythagoras,  did  not  much  affect  the  common  mind.  It  was 
understood  to  be  adapted  only  to  the  Grove  and  the  Lyceum. 
The  great  mass  of  mind  was  to  be  unaffected  by  it ;  and  we 
do  not  know  that  the  majority  of  the  Greek  population  was 
influenced  at  all  by  all  the  labours  of  those  illustrious  men. 
But  during  the  rise  of  the  papal  dominion  in  Europe,  it  be 
came  indispensable  that  some  system  of  philosophy  should  be 
at  the  control  of  the  priesthood,  that  would  extend  and  pro- 


144  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

long  the  shades  of  darkness  as  far  as  the  sceptre  of  the  papal 
power  could  be  made  to  extend.  Some  scheme  was  necessary 
that  should  repress  investigation ;  that  should  convince  man 
kind  that  all  wisdom,  as  well  as  power,  was  located  near 
the  Vatican;  and  that  should  effectually  fetter  and  bind 
human  faculties;  and  stay  for  ages  the  advance  of  thought. 
The  grand  thing  needed  to  give  ascendency  and  stability  to 
the  papacy,  was  some  system  that  should  treat  inquiry  as  con 
structive  heresy,  and  brand  novelty  of  opinion  as  dangerous  to 
the  purity  and  power  of  the  church.  Had  this  been  left  to 
the  invention  of  the  friends  of  the  rising  spiritual  tyranny,  we 
believe  that  there  was  not  cunning  or  talent  enough  among  all 
the  adored  and  canonized  fathers  of  the  church,  to  have  de 
vised  any  effectual  scheme.  But  the  work  was  made  ready  to 
their  hands,  long  before  even  the  coming  of  Christ.  The 
scheme  had  been  framed  by  one  of  the  profoundest  minds  that 
ever  approached  the  topics  of  human  inquiry.  Nothing  more 
was  wanting  effectually  to  confirm  the  aspirations  of  the 
papacy  \  to  repress  inquiry }  to  chain  the  mind  down  to  igno 
rance  ;  to  prepare  it  for  all  the  legends  and  fooleries  of  the 
monastic  life,  and  to  fit  it  to  receive  all  the  claims  of  the 
papal  power,  than  to  give  such  a  direction  to  the  philosophy 
of  the  Stagyrite  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  common  mind,  and 
bestow  on  it  all  the  tremendous  sanctions  of  religion.  This 
was  done.  Its  reign  was  secured,  and  when  we  see  what  it 
was  expected  to  accomplish  by  it,  we  cease  to  wonder  that  it 
should  call  forth  the  profound  talents  of  such  men  as  Duns 
Scotus,  and  even  the  devoted  piety  of  Thomas  Aquinas. 
When  these  shades  were  stretched  over  the  church ;  when 
it  was  understood  that  this  withering  philosophy  was  to 
attend  the  dogmas  of  the  papal  See,  we  cease  to  wonder 
at  its  long  and  gloomy  reign.  It  was  sustained  by  the 
mightiest  talents  then  on  earth ;  it  was  urged  forward  by  all 
the  learning  that  lingered  in  the  monastic  cells ;  by  all  the 


THE   WORKS   OF   LORD    BACON.  145 

achievements  of  the  papal  arms ;  by  all  the  mighty  power  of 
religious  principle  when  misdirected ;  by  the  energies  of  a  dark 
and  dismal  superstition ;  and,  finally,  by  all  the  terrors  of  the 
Inquisition,  and  the  flames  of  persecution.  Every  engine  of 
cruelty  in  the  Spanish  dungeons  tended  to  confirm  the  reign 
of  Aristotle ;  and  every  flame  kindled  in  the  valleys  of  Swit 
zerland  was  designed  to  confirm  and  prolong  the  dark  and 
gloomy  domination.  It  became  necessary  to  fetter  and  bind 
all  the  faculties  of  the  soul.  Scientific  investigations  would, 
at  any  period,  have  overthrown  the  power  of  the  papacy. 
Large  and  liberal  indulgence  given  to  the  cultivation  of  any 
single  faculty  of  the  mind,  would  have  ultimately  set  the  mind 
wholly  free.  The  improvement  of  any  single  department  of 
science  or  learning,  would  have  emancipated  the  human  powers, 
and  stayed  the  desolating  reign  of  the  papal  supremacy  among 
men.  You  cannot  give  enlargement  to  one  of  the  faculties  of 
the  mind,  without  affecting  all.  You  cannot  emancipate  man 
in  one  department  of  learning,  without  ultimately  sending  a 
healing  and  redeeming  influence  over  all  that  gives  rise  to  in 
quiry,  or  that  ennobles  and  purifies  man.  Hence  we  see  how 
difficult  and  slow  was  the  progress  of  the  Reformation. 
On  any  effort  to  emancipate  the  mind  in  any  department, 
there  rested  this  superincumbent  mass,  consolidated  for  ages. 
Wherever  there  was  in  any  department,  however  obscure,  a 
disposition  to  inquire,  or  to  doubt,  it  was  the  certain  precursor 
of  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican,  and  of  the  terrors  of  the  In 
quisition.  Every  nook  and  corner  of  the  Roman  dominion 
was  searched  as  with  the  hundred  eyes  of  Argus;  every 
change  of  opinion,  or  advance  in  science,  called  to  the  spot 
the  concentrated  vigilance  and  power  of  the  whole  Roman 
See.  Roger  Bacon  early  made  advances  in  science,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  who  acted  on  the  principles  of  the  inductive 
philosophy,  but  his  improvements  died  with  himself,  and  for 
ages  his  was  a  solitary  name  connected  with  philosophy,  in 

VOL.  T.  13 


146  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

the  whole  compass  of  the  Roman  domination.  Jerome  of 
Prague,  and  Huss,  and  Wlckliffe,  dared  to  think  for  them 
selves,  and  to  doubt  the  infallibility  of  the  prevalent  opinions; 
and  the  flames  of  persecution  terminated  the  lives  of  two 
of  them,  and  indignity  was  offered  to  the  bones  and  the  works 
of  the  other.  Galileo  constructed  a  telescope,  exposed  to  the 
eye  of  man  the  absurdities  of  the  prevailing  philosophy,  and 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  modern  discoveries  in  astronomy; 
and  he  was  rewarded  with  a  place  in  the  dungeons  of  the 
Inquisition.  With  so  keen  an  eye  did  the  Roman  See  discern 
that  the  slightest  advance  in  science  would  tend  to  destroy  its 
far-spread  domination,  and  liberate  man  from  the  ignoble  and 
slavish  chain.  And  we  may  here  remark,  that  the  distin 
guishing  features  of  the  papal  See  in  modern  times,  though 
varied,  are  not  essentially  changed.  It  is  still  true,  that  the 
philosophy  of  Aristotle  holds  as  real  a  sway  over  the  Romish 
Church  as  ever ;  and  it  is  true,  that  it  looks  with  as  real  a 
jealousy  as  ever  on  the  advances  which  men  are  disposed  to 
make,  and  on  freedom  of  opinion,  as  it  did  on  the  opinions  of 
Wickliffe  or  of  Galileo. 

The  Reformation  under  Luther  broke  this  mighty  power. 
It  was  necessary  that  some  tremendous  shock  should  be  given 
to  the  Roman  See,  and  set  the  human  mind  at  liberty,  and  it 
was  done.  God  raised  up  men  formed  for  those  times,  men 
evidently  adapted  to  make  vast  changes,  and  originate  stu 
pendous  revolutions  among  men.  The  papal  power  once 
broken ;  the  project  of  confining  all  learning  to  the  cells 
of  the  monastery  being  for  ever  put  to  an  end  by  the  dis 
covery  of  printing;  the  terrors  of  the  Inquisition,  and  the 
anathemas  of  the  triple  crown  being  ineffectual  to  prove  the 
telescope  to  be  false ;  and  the  superincumbent  load  of  super 
stition  nnd  crimes  in  the  papal  dominion  beino;  beyond  human 
endurance,  the  Reformation  by  one  mighty  effort  threw  off 
the  incumbent  IIUUSH,  and  man  walked  forth  dignified  with  tho 


THE   WORKS   OF   LORD    BACON.  147 

privilege  withheld  for  centuries,  of  thinking  for  himself.  The 
great  truth  went  forth,  never  more  to  be  recalled,  that  man 
was  to  be  at  liberty  to  frame  his  own  opinions,  and  that  the 
last  successful  effort  had  been  made  effectually  to  fetter  and 
paralyze  the  human  powers. 

It  is  interesting  to  the  friends  of  science,  to  trace  the  slow 
advances  which  were  made  toward  the  great  truths  which  now 
ennoble  science.  We  have  already  adverted  to  the  labours  of 
Roger  Bacon,  and  the  discovery  of  the  telescope  by  Galileo. 
We  may  now  remark,  that  many  of  the  maxims  of  the  induc 
tive  philosophy  were  acted  on  before  they  were  collected  and 
arranged  by  Bacon.  Thus  in  the  year  1596,  John  Kepler 
published  his  peculiar  views  on  the  Harmonics  and  Analogies 
of  Nature.  This  was  a  book  constructed  wholly  on  the  pre 
valent  system  of  philosophy,  in  which  he  attempts  to  solve 
what  he  calls  "  the  cosmographical  mystery  of  the  admirable 
proportion  of  the  planetary  orbits  •"  and  by  means  of  the  six 
regular  geometrical  solids  he  endeavours  to  assign  a  reason 
why  there  are  six  planets,  and  why  the  dimensions  of  their 
orbits,  and  the  time  of  their  periodical  revolutions,  were  such 
as  Copernicus  found  them.  Perhaps  not  even  in  the  trifling, 
but  more  laborious  toils  of  the  schoolmen,  could  there  be 
found  a  more  melancholy  illustration  of  the  prevalent  philo 
sophy.  A  copy  of  this  work  was  presented  by  its  author  to 
Tycho  Brahe,  who  had  been  too  long  versed  in  the  realities 
of  close  observation  to  attach  any  value  to  such  wild  theories. 
He  advised  his  young  friend,  "  first  to  lay  a  solid  foundation 
for  his  views  by  actual  observation,  and  then  by  ascending 
from  these,  to  strive  to  reach  the  causes  of  things."*  On  this 
principle  Brahe  had  long  acted,  and  by  the  aid  of  it  had 
reached  a  distinguished  elevation  in  the  philosophical  world. 
On  this  principle  Kepler  appears  afterwards  to  have  acted, 

*  Browstcr's  Life  of  Newton,  p.  120. 


148  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Baconian  philosophy  thus  com 
pressed  into  a  single  paragraph,  he  abandoned  his  visionary 
inquiries,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  that  distinguished  cha 
racter  for  philosophic  inquiry  which  he  subsequently  obtained. 
Philosophers  were  beginning  gradually  to  abandon  the  long- 
established  maxims  of  the  schools.  They  began  to  discover 
the  inutility  and  barrenness  of  their  speculations.  Incident 
ally,  and  at  intervals,  they  expressed  some  great  sentiment, 
which,  if  followed  out,  would  have  freed  them  from  the  domi 
nation  of  the  prevailing  systems.  They  saw  that  under  the 
advancing  prevalence  of  the  new  principles  of  inquiry,  the 
universe  began,  to  their  view,  to  assume  a  new  aspect;  dis 
coveries  in  science  had  already  characterized  the  sixteenth 
century,  far  more  in  number  and  importance  than  had  marked 
the  whole  reign  of  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle,  and  the  way 
was  manifestly  opening  for  some  still  more  splendid  advances 
in  science. 

At  this  auspicious  period  Bacon  rose.  The  world  had 
manifestly  worked  itself  into  a  form  adapted  to  the  moulding 
of  some  such  mighty  mind.  Some  comprehensive  genius  was 
demanded  by  the  circumstances  of  the  age,  that  could  look  at 
once  at  all  the  departments  of  science,  ascertain  and  record  all 
that  had  been  done  and  that  was  still  defective;  point  out  the 
errors  that  had  pervaded  all  the  investigations  of  past  genera 
tions,  expose  the  causes  of  the  slow  progress  of  science,  of  its 
repeated  defeats,  its  little  utility,  and  disclose  the  true  paths 
of  philosophic  research.  Some  single  mind  of  vast  native 
powers  and  attainments  was  needed  to  collect  the  incipient, 
though  scattered  maxims  of  the  true  philosophy,  and  present 
them  in  an  embodied  form ;  that  should  trace  their  real  in 
fluence  in  the  hands  of  Friar  Bacon,  of  Galileo,  of  Tycho 
Brahe,  and  of  Kepler;  and  that  should  show  in  what  way  the 
same  principles  might  be  applied  to  all  the  departments  of 
human  investigation.  Such  a  man  was  Bacon.  Nor  was 


THE   WORKS    OF    LORD    BACON.  149 

there  ever  a  human  being  so  well  adapted  to  occupy  this 
ground  as  he.  He  seems  to  have  been  fitted  by  a  wise  Provi 
dence,  to  stand  at  the  base  of  the  towering  and  superincum 
bent  system,  which  had  so  long  held  in  ignoble  bondage  all 
the  human  powers,  and  to  hasten  its  decline ;  and  to  frame  a 
scheme  that  should  be  adapted  to  all  future  times,  and  to  set 
up  land-marks  along  the  paths  of  all  the  departments  of 
science.  Nor  do  we  know  that  there  have  ever  been  put  forth 
more  vast  and  comprehensive  views/  than  those  which  charac 
terized  this  illustrious  man.  The  principles  of  his  philosophy 
are  simple,  even  to  the  comprehension  of  a  child ;  and  yet 
vast  enough  to  meet  all  the  investigations  of  the  modern 
astronomer,  to  direct  all  the  inquiries  of  the  natural  philo 
sopher  and  chemist,  and  to  give  law  to  all  the  investigations 
of  mind. 

The  two  great  departments  of  Bacon's  work  were  designed 
to  state  what  are  the  proper  objects  of  science,  its  advances, 
and  its  defects;  and  to  submit  the  outlines  of  a  new  method 
of  philosophic  inquiry.  The  first  of  these  he  accomplished  in 
his  treatise  on  the  Advancement  of  Learning;  the  latter  in 
the  Novum  Organum.  The  first  of  these  we  regard  as  pre 
senting,  even  now,  by  far  the  best  view  to  be  found  of  the 
various  objects  of  human  pursuit.  With  a  comprehensiveness 
of  mind  which  shows  that  he  had  looked  at  all  the  inquiries 
of  the  illustrious  men  of  other  times,  at  their  successes  and 
their  failures,  at  the  true  compass  of  the  field  of  inquiry,  and 
at  its  actual  results,  he  states  what  are  the  proper  objects 
of  human  pursuit ;  what  advances  had  been  made ;  and  what 
remained  yet  to  be  accomplished.  It  is  lamentable,  in  look 
ing  at  this  work,  to  see  how  little  had  been  accomplished  by 
the  toils  of  so  many  centuries ;  and  no  survey  could  more  com 
pletely  have  shown  the  necessity  of  some  new  mode  of  inves 
tigation.  Men  had  speculated  and  framed  visionary  theories 
age  after  age,  and  yet  scarcely  a  truth  in  the  science  of 


150  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

astronomy  had  been  established ;  and  few  of  the  facts  of  the 
universe  had  been  subjected  to  the  test  of  the  inductive  philo 
sophy.  Men  had  been  so  bewildered  in  the  pursuit  of  sub 
stantial  forms,  and  real  essences ;  they  had  been  so  tossed  in 
vortices,  and  had  listened  so  anxiously  to  the  imagined  music 
of  the  spheres ;  they  had  so  loved  the  great  maxim  of  the 
Aristotelian  philosophy,  that  the  way  to  investigate  truth  is  to 
frame  a  theory,  and  construct  a  syllogism ;  that  science,  even 
down  to  the  time  of  Bacon,  was  a  vast  chaos,  and  the  entire 
field  was  to  be  resurveyed,  and  subjected  to  a  better  and 
different  test. 

This  test  he  proposed  in  the  Novum  Organum.  Never  was 
there  a  more  comprehensive  maxim,  or  one  more  fitted  to 
revolutionize  all  the  prevalent  systems  of  philosophy — though 
to  us  perfectly  simple  and  obvious — than  the  first  sentence 
of  this  wonderful  work.  Never  was  there  an  announcement 
more  fitted  to  arrest  the  thoughts  of  a  philosophic  mind,  or  to 
produce  a  pause  in  all  the  inquiries  that  the  world  was  then 
making,  than  when  he  proclaimed,  "  Homo,  natura)  minister 
et  interpres,  tantum  facit  et  intelligit,  quantum  de  naturae 
ordine,  re  vel  mente  observaverit ;  nee  amplius  scit,  aut 
potest."  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  attempt  an  analysis  of  this 
vast  and  comprehensive  work.  It  is,  perhaps,  of  all  works, 
except  Butler's  Analogy,  least  capable  of  abridgment.  Our 
regret  is  that  it  is  so  little  known  and  so  little  understood  by 
theologians.  Its  great  principles  are  better  understood  in  all 
other  departments  of  inquiry  than  in  theology.  We  were 
about  to  add  that  divinity  is  almost  the  only  science  on  which 
it  has  not  cast  a  flood  of  light.  Our  object  in  this  article  will 
be  accomplished,  if  we  can  direct  the  attention  of  our  readers 
to  this  great  work. 

The  great  principle  of  the  Baconian  or  inductive  philosophy, 
we  have  already  stated  in  the  advice  given  by  Tycho  Brahc  to 
Kepler.  It  consists  in  o  careful  and  patient  examination  of 


THE   WORKS    OF   LOUD   BACON.  151 

fdcts,  or  the  phenomena  of  the  universe,  and  deriving  from 
the  observation  of  those  facts  the  principles  of  a  just  philoso 
phy,  or  the  laws  by  which  the  natural  universe  is  governed. 
It  supposes  that  God  acts  on  the  same  principles  in  the  same 
circumstances,  in  all  places  and  at  all  times  j  and  that  when 
we  have  carefully  examined  one  phenomenon,  and  have  ascer 
tained  its  cause,  we  arc  qualified  and  authorized  to  apply  the 
same  explanation  to  all  similar  facts  in  the  universe.  Till 
then,  we  arc  not  qualified  to  frame  a  theory.  Till  then,  a 
theory  would  be  visionary,  useless,  wild,  and  probably  erro 
neous.  On  this  simple  precept  the  whole  of  the  Baconian 
philosophy  rests,  and  the  wonder  to  us  is,  that  so  much  time 
was  necessary  in  the  history  of  philosophy  to  bring  it  out,  and 
that  the  talents  of  sucli  a  man  as  Bacon  were  demanded  to 
establish  it  on  an  imperishable  foundation.  Yet  it  was  long 
before  the  world  saw  its  value ;  and  to  the  mistakes  and  errors 
of  mankind  in  regard  to  this  single  principle,  we  arc  indebted 
for  that  stupendous  production  of  the  human  mind — the 
Novum  Organum. 

It  was  sufficient  honour  for  one  man  to  have  laid  the  foun 
dation  of  the  inductive  philosophy ;  in  other  words,  to  have 
taught  the  race  in  what  way  to  approach  the  works  of  God 
with  the  hope  of  success.  This  was  the  honour  reserved  for 
Bacon.  Hence  we  are  not  to  expect  that  he  himself  would 
make  great  advances  in  experimental  philosophy.  His  disco 
veries  were  few,  and  many  of  his  experiments  incomplete. 
Yet  it  is  amazing  that  he  subjected  so  many  objects  to  the 
test  of  experiment — that  with  so  incomplete  and  clumsy  an 
apparatus  as  could  be  possessed  in  his  time,  he  attempted  an 
examination  of  so  many  phenomena,  and  even  with  so  much 
success. 

From  the  time,  however,  of  the  publication  of  the  Novum 
Organum,  the  progress  of  the  sciences  is  well  known.  As 
if  by  the  wand  of  magic,  Bacon  laid  open  for  correct  human 


152  ESSAYS  AND   REVIEWS. 

investigation  all  the  departments  of  the  material  and  mental 
worlds.  Galileo  had  already  pointed  the  telescope  to  the 
heavens ;  and  by  a  single  glance  had  exposed  to  contempt  all 
the  cycles  and  conjectures  of  the  ancient  astronomy.  Bacon 
taught  mankind  how  to  look  at  the  stupendous  facts  which 
the  telescope  laid  open  to  view;  how  to  classify  and  arrange 
the  amazing  phenomena  which  now  burst  upon  the  eyes  of 
mankind ;  how  to  subject  nature  to  the  torture,  and  how  to 
penetrate  into  all  elements,  look  at  all  worlds,  and  how  to 
listen  to  the  universal  voice  which  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
the  air,  the  ocean  and  the  land,  were  ready,  with  a  harmony 
more  grateful  than  the  feeble  music  of  the  spheres,  to  pour  on 
the  human  ear  in  relation  to  science.  Europe  was  prepared 
to  follow  her  illustrious  guide.  Centuries  had  been  opening 
the  way  for  the  Novuni  Organum ;  and  it  was  impossible  but 
that  the  boundaries  of  human  science  should  at  once  be  en 
larged,  far,  far  beyond  what  the  world  had  ever  known.  A 
mighty  engine  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  works  of  creation ; 
and  never  before  had  man  been  armed  with  like  power  in 
questioning  the  elements  of  the  universe.  We  regard  the  rise 
of  such  a  man  as  Newton,  who  has,  by  common  consent,  been 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  race,  as  an  event  which  the  crisis  of 
the  world  was  just  fitted  to  produce.  A  peculiar  juncture 
of  political  affairs  has  commonly  raised  up  men  adapted  to 
their  times.  Such  men  as  Caesar  and  Napoleon,  as  Hannibal 
and  Scipio,  as  Leonidas  and  our  own  Washington,  are  formed 
often  by  great  crises  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  frame 
of  things  makes  their  existence  indispensable }  and  calls  out 
talent,  prowess,  and  patriotism,  which,  but  for  such  events, 
would  have  slumbered  unknown. 

Newton  we  regard  as  indebted  to  the  state  of  things  formed 
by  Wickliffe  and  Luther ;  by  Galileo,  Kepler,  Brahe ;  by  John 
of  Salisbury,  Roger  Bacon,  Ludovicus  Vives ;  by  Gilbert,  who 
had  investigated  the  laws  of  magnetic  attraction ;  by  Coper- 


THE   WORKS    OF    LORD    BACON.  153 

nicus,  who  had  revived  the  ancient  Pythagorean  doctrine  of 
astronomy;  by  Francis  Bacon;  and  by  the  prevalence  of  just 
principles  of  philosophy  in  Europe,  for  the  station  which  he 
occupies  in  fame  as  at  the  head  of  mankind.  The  develop 
ment  of  some  such  mind,  we  consider  as  inevitable  in  the 
progress  of  events,  as  the  formation  of  the  character  of  Napo 
leon,  fitted  to  control  the  whirlwind  and  direct  the  storm  of 
revolution  in  France.  And  while  we  wish  to  concede  all 
honour  to  his  immortal  name,  we  cannot  but  remark  that, 
under  other  auspices,  Aristotle,  or  even  John  Duns  Scotus, 
might  have  filled  the  space  which  Newton's  name  now  fills; 
and  that  most  certainly  some  La  Place,  or  Herschell,  would 
have  opened  the  eyes  of  mankind  on  the  modern  astonishing 
theories  of  the  heavens.  In  less  than  half  a  century  from 
the  publication  of  the  Novum  Organum,  Newton  had  developed 
the  laws  of  light,  strictly  on  the  principles  of  the  inductive 
philosophy ;  had  invented  the  science  of  fluxions ;  had  dis- 
coverered  and  demonstrated  the  grand  principles  of  the  mo 
dern  astronomy  •  and  by  one  transcendent  effort  of  intellect, 
had  opened  to  human  view  the  sublimest  scenes  which  had 
ever  appeared  to  mortal  eyes ;  and  while  he  told  us  of  the 
amazing  distances  and  magnitudes  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
seemed  almost  to  annihilate  their  distances,  and  made  man 
feel  for  the  first  time  that  he  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  universe, 
and  bound  by  indissoluble  ties  to  distant  worlds.  It  would  be 
easy  to  extend  our  remarks  to  the  improvements  in  chemistry 
and  the  kindred  sciences.  Perhaps  in  no  way  would  the 
benefit  of  the  inductive  philosophy  appear  more  striking  than 
on  a  comparison  of  the  labours  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  with 
the  toils  of  the  alchimists  of  the  dark  ages.  With  the  simple, 
and  to  us  very  obvious,  principles  on  which  Davy  proceeded 
in  the  construction  of  the  safety  lamp,  it  is  now  impossible  to 
conjecture  what  the  Arabian  chemists  would  have  produced. 
We  can  scarcely  help  pausing  to  contemplate  what  a  different 


154  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

destiny  might  have  awaited  mankind,  if  those  principles  had 
been  understood  by  the  Mussulman.  The  followers  of  the 
impostor  might  then  have  been  put  in  possession  of  the 
amazing  mechanical  powers  and  chemical  processes  which  now 
distinguish  and  adorn  Christian  lands.  Science  would  have 
returned,  perhaps,  to  its  native  Egypt;  have  spread  over 
Arabia;  have  travelled  eastward  to  Persia,  to  Hindoostan,  to 
China.  The  magnetic  needle  might  have  pointed  the  ships 
of  Islam  to  the  distant  Western  World,  and  established  the 
religion  of  the  prophet  here.  Our  streams  might  have  been 
navigated,  and  our  lands  filled  by  the  Mussulman ;  and  the 
Tigris,  and  the  Euphrates,  and  the  Ganges,  perhaps,  might 
have  been  the  first  to  open  their  bosoms  to  bear  the  vessel 
navigated  by  steam.  God  designed,  doubtless,  that  these 
sciences  should  start  up,  and  receive  their  form  and  consum 
mation  on  Christian  soils ;  and  we  love  to  trace  the  wonderful 
means  by  which  he  has  directed  man  in  science  and  the  me 
chanic  arts,  as  he  has  in  religion ;  thus  showing  that  the 
worlds  of  nature  and  of  grace  arc  under  his  control.  Our 
limits  forbid  our  following  out  the  bearing  of  the  principles 
of  the  inductive  philosophy  on  the  arts  and  sciences.  To  our 
mind  there  is  nothing  more  interesting  than  to  observe  the 
amazing  changes  which  the  inductive  method  has  made  in  the 
opinions,  the  philosophy,  and  the  arts  of  mankind,  and  in  the 
ultimate  effect  which  we  believe  those  principles  will  have  in 
sending  the  gospel  around  the  globe.  Hand  in  hand  with  the 
Christian  religion,  we  believe  that  those  arts  and  scientific 
results  will  yet  encompass  the  world.  Already  we  trace  their 
influence  in  enlarging  and  liberalizing  all  the  usual  modes 
of  thinking  among  men ;  in  lessening  the  distances  between 
nations ;  in  rendering  it  easy  to  cross  seas  and  plains ;  in 
forming  neighbourhoods  of  what  were  remote  districts;  in  pro 
ducing  sympathy  and  a  rapid  interchange  of  feeling  between 
the  distant  parts  of  republics  and  remote  kingdoms;  and  in 


THE   WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  155 

forming  facilities  for  carrying  the  gospel  around  tlie  globe. 
That  these  improvements  have  been  made  on  Christian  ground, 
we  regard  as  proof  at  once  of  the  large  and  liberal  influence 
of  true  Christianity,  and  at  the  same  time  as  evidence  that  it 
is  the  intention  of  God  that  this  religion  should  encompass  the 
world.  We  do  not  adduce  this  as  &  proof  that  the  Christian 
religion  is  true ;  but  we  cannot  but  regard  it  as  one  of  the  vast 
array  of  circumstances  that  God  has  placed  everywhere  around 
the  Christian  scheme,  evincing  that  it  is  under  his  benignant 
care  j  that  all  those  great  advances  which  tend  to  exalt  and 
adorn  human  nature,  tend  also  to  the  spread  of  the  Christian 
system ;  and  that  such  is  the  economy  of  things,  that  no  great 
advance  can  be  made  in  true  science  which  shall  not  contri 
bute  to  strengthen  and  confirm  the  evidences  of  revelation ; 
no  facility  of  communication  be  opened  among  mankind — no 
process  of  breaking  down  existing  barriers,  and  annihilating 
prejudices,  and  of  cementing  man  and  man,  of  binding  nations 
in  one  universal  brotherhood,  which  shall  not  contribute  to 
the  spread  of  the  Christian  scheme ;  and  no  spread  of  Christi 
anity  in  its  purity  which  shall  not  also  convey  to  benighted  men 
letters,  science,  mechanic  arts,  and  liberty.  We  discern  here, 
we  think,  evidence  that  the  scheme  has  the  approbation  of 
God ;  and  in  the  staid  and  motionless  formality  of  China,  in 
the  corruption  of  Hindoostan,  in  the  wretchedness  of  pagan 
islanders,  and  Africans,  and  in  the  dark  features  and  bloody 
hands  which  are  everywhere  seen  under  the  reign  of  Islam, 
we  think  we  discern  the  frown  of  God  on  the  schemes  of  reli 
gion  which  thus  fetter  and  bind  down  the  faculties  of  man, 
and  which  never  have  been,  and  never  can  be,  connected  with 
true  science  and  the  mechanic  arts. 

But  one  other  topic  remains,  pertaining  to  the  character 
of  Bacon.  We  refer  to  his  moral  and  religious  character — 
unhappily  the  most  difficult  part  of  our  inquiry.  That  dark 
shade  which  passed  over  his  name  toward  the  close  of  his  life, 


156  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

which  hurled  him  degraded  from  the  office  he  had  so  long 
and  so  earnestly  sought,  which  led  Pope  to  characterize  him 

as  the 

"Wisest,  brightest,  meanest  of  mankind," 

has  rendered  it  almost  impossible  to  estimate  his  moral  and 
religious  character.  To  this  sad  period  of  Bacon's  life,  his 
character,  so  far  as  we  know,  except  as  a  man  fond  of  display, 
and  ambitious,  was  beyond  reproach.  In  the  offices  which  he 
held,  and  in  his  private  deportment,  he  was  never  suspected 
of  a  want  of  integrity.  Hume  declares  that  he  was  not  only 
the  ornament  of  his  age  and  nation,  but  also  "  beloved  for  the 
courteousness  and  humanity  of  his  behaviour."  It  is  natural 
for  us  to  seek  some  palliation  for  Bacon's  great  offence ;  and, 
happily,  there  were  circumstances,  which,  while  they  by  no 
means  justify  his  crime,  yet  serve  in  some  measure  to  modify 
its  character,  and  render  it  much  less  base  and  ignominious 
than  such  an  offence  would  be  deemed  in  our  times. 

The  parliament  which  was  assembled  by  James  in  1621, 
entered  immediately  into  an  investigation  of  the  existing 
abuses  of  the  nation.  Unhappily  they  found  in  this,  their 
favourite  employment,  an  ample  field  of  labour.  Abuses  had 
crept  into  the  government  under  James,  which  this  vain  mo 
narch  either  would  not  believe  could  exist  under  his  wise 
administration,  or  which  he  was  unwilling  to  correct.  The 
necessity  of  the  case,  however,  compelled  him  to  yield  to  a 
determined  and  inflexible  House  of  Commons.  That  House,  he 
already  saw,  was  disposed  to  apply  an  unsparing  hand  to  all 
the  abuses  of  the  government,  and  even  to  most  of  the  royal 
prerogatives.  The  necessity  of  the  case  compelled  him  to  ex 
press  his  royal  gratification  with  their  labours,  and  to  encou 
rage  them  in  their  work.  (( I  assure  you/'  said  he,  "  had  I 
before  heard  these  things  complained  of,  I  would  have  done 
the  office  of  a  just  king,  and  out  of  parliament  have  punished 


THE   WORKS   OF   LORD   BACON.  157 

them,   as   severely,  and   peradventure   more,   than  you  now 
intend  to  do." 

Encouraged  in  this  manner,  and  resolved  to  strike  an  effec 
tual  blow,  they  commenced  their  investigations  respecting  the 
character  and  deeds  of  the  lord  chancellor.  Unhappily,  here 
also  they  found  an  ample  field  for  the  work  of  reforjn.  The 
result  is  well  known.  Charges  of  extensive  bribery  were 
brought  against  him.  It  was  alleged  that  he  had  received 
money  and  other  presents,  to  the  amount  of  many  thousand 
pounds,  while  causes  in  chancery  were  depending  on  his  deci 
sion.  As  to  these  charges,  Bacon  made  a  general  acknow 
ledgement  of  guilt.  With  this  confession  the  parliament  was 
wholly  unsatisfied.  Determined  to  humble  the  greatest  man 
of  their  time,  thev  demanded  an  explicit  confession,  in  detail, 
of  each  act  of  corruption.  Power  they  knew  was  in  their 
hands.  A  weak,  vain,  and  silly,  though  learned  monarch, 
trembled  before  them.  They  had  commenced  a  process  which 
could  terminate  only  in  the  fall  of  the  reigning  sovereign ; 
and  they  resolved  that  the  highest  man  in  the  realm  should 
feel  the  weight  of  their  power.  Bacon  made  them  an  inge 
nuous,  frank,  full,  and  most  mortifying  confession  of  guilt, 
and  bowed  himself  before  the  representatives  of  the  people. 
He  acknowledged  his  guilt  in  twenty -eight  articles ;  specified 
the  amount  he  had  received;  detailed,  as  far  as  was  then 
practicable,  the  circumstances,  and  left  himself  at  the  mercy 
of  an  indignant  parliament.  "  For  extenuation/'  says  he,  "I 
will  use  none  concerning  the  matters  themselves ;  only  it  may 
please  your  lordships,  out  of  your  nobleness,  to  cast  your  eyes 
of  compassion  upon  my  person  and  estate.  I  was  never  noted 
for  an  avaricious  man ;  and  the  apostle  saith  that  covetous- 
ness  is  the  root  of  all  evil.  I  hope  also  that  your  lordships  do 
the  rather  find  me  in  a  state  of  grace ;  for  that  in  all  these 
particulars,  there  are  few  or  none  that  are  not  almost  two 
years  old ;  whereas  those  that  are  in  the  habit  of  corruption 
VOL.  I.  14 


158  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

do  commonly  wax  worse ;  so  that  it  hath  pleased  God  to  pre 
pare  me  by  precedent  degrees  of  amendment  to  my  present 
penitency ;  and  for  my  estate,  it  is  so  mean  and  poor,  as  my 
care  is  now  chiefly  to  satisfy  my  debts."  Being  asked  by  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  whether  this  was  his  true 
and  real  confession,  he  used  the  following  noble  and  touching 
language,  "  My  lords,  it  is  my  act,  my  hand,  my  heart ;  I  be 
seech  your  lordships  to  be  merciful  to  a  broken  reed."  The 
sentence  for  the  crime  we  have  already  recorded. 

We  have  no  wish  to  justify  these  deeply  humiliating  and 
disgraceful  crimes.  We  know  not  an  instance  in  all  history 
where  we  could  weep  over  human  weakness,  as  over  the  fall 
of  this  great  man.  It  is  one  of  the  thousands  of  instances 
that  everywhere  meet  us  of  human  depravity ;  but,  if  it  fixes 
us  in  grief,  and  appals  the  soul,  it  shows  us  man,  scarcely 
tl  less  than  an  archangel,  ruined,"  and  arrests  our  thoughts, 
not  like  the  obscuration  of  a  planet,  or  the  withdrawal  of  the 
beams  of  a  twinkling  star,  but  with  the  deep  melancholy  which 
is  shed  over  created  things,  when  the  sun 

"In  dim  eclipse  disastrous  twilight  sheds 
O'er  half  the  nations,  and  with  fear  of  change 
Perplexes  monarchs." 

The  only  way  in  which  this  offence  can  be  in  any  manner 
palliated,  is  by  a  detail  of  the  acknowledged  circumstances 
of  the  case.  1.  Bacon  was  distinguished  for  want  of  economy 
during  his  whole  life.  It  is  clear,  as  he  says,  that  he  was  not 
te  an  avaricious  man,"  but  his  great  error  was  a  love  of  office 
and  honour;  his  great  foible,  a  fondness  for  display.  This 
fondness  had  involved  him  in  debts  which  he  was  unable  to 
pay.  2.  The  affairs  of  his  domestic  economy,  it  appears,  he 
intrusted  to  servants  who  were  regardless  of  expense,  and, 
probably,  unconcerned  about  the  dignity,  virtue,  or  solvency 
of  their  master.  One  article  of  the  charge  against  him  was, 


THE   WORKS   OF   LORD    BACON.  !;">!) 

.that  "  the  lord  chancellor  hath  given  way  to  great  exactions 
by  his  servants."  To  this  he  replies,  "I  confess  it  was  a 
great  fault  of  neglect  in  me,  that  I  looked  no  better  to  my 
servants."  3.  It  is  indisputable  that  Bacon  was  not  enriched 
by  these  bribes.  4.  It  is  more  than  probable,  that  Buc;»n 
only  followed  a  custom  which,  until  that  time,  had  been 
regarded  as  no  violation  of  the  oath  of  the  lord  chancellor. 
Hume  affirms  that  "  it  had  been  usual  for  former  chancellors 
to  take  presents/'  If  this  was  the  case,  it  lessens  greatly  the 
enormity  of  the  crime.  It  also  casts  much  light  on  the  cha 
racter  of  the  parliament  which  was  thus  resolved  to  make  him 
a  victim.  5.  It  is  said  that  the  presents  which  Bacon  re 
ceived  did  in  no  instance  influence  his  decisions.  It  was 
never  alleged,  even  by  parliament,  that  he  had  given  ail 
unjust  or  erroneous  sentence.  None  of  his  decisions  were 
ever  reversed ;  and  it  is  affirmed  that  he  ''  had  given  just 
decrees  against  those  very  persons  from  whom  he  had  received 
the  wages  of  iniquity."*  It  is  further  to  be  remarked,  that  of 
the  twenty-eight  charges  of  corruption  against  Bacon,  but  seven 
occurred  during  the  existence  of  the  suit.  It  remains  yet  to 
be  demonstrated — a  thing  which  he  did  not  acknowledge,  and 
which  neither  the  witnesses  in  the  case,  nor  the  nature  of  his 
decisions  proved — that  even  those  presents  influenced  in  the 
least  his  decisions.  The  more  we  contemplate  the  case  of 
Bacon,  the  more  we  are  disposed  to  think  that  injustice  has 
been  done  to  his  character.  We  believe,  in  relation  to  the 
errors  and  failings  of  the  men  of  those  times — of  such  men  as 
Calvin,  and  Cranmcr,  and  Luther,  and  Bacon, — that  men  have 
pronounced  sentence  with  a  severity  drawn  rather  from  the 
present  views  of  morals,  than  from  the  sober  estimate  which 
we  oiujht  to  make,  if  thrown  into  the  circumstances  of  their 
times.  This  we  think  particularly  true  with  regard  to  the 

*  Hume. 


160  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

crime  of  Bacon.  While  we  feel  assuredly  that  crimes  such 
as  those  with  which  he  was  charged  deserve  the  abhorrence 
of  niankind;  and  go  to  impair  and  destroy  all  justice  in  the 
administration  of  laws,  we  are  still  inclined  to  look  upon  the 
errors  of  that  age,  and  in  those  circumstances,  with  less 
severity  than  we  should  be  disposed  to  apply  in  the  more 
enlightened  periods  of  the  world.  It  is  not  easy  to  form  an 
estimate  of  Bacon's  religious  character.  We  are  favoured 
with  so  few  and  imperfect  details  of  his  private  habits ;  we 
have  so  little  that  tells  us  the  true  biography  of  the  man — his 
feelings,  his  usual  deportment,  his  private  modes  of  action ; 
we  are  let  so  little  into  the  interior  arrangements  of  his  life, 
that  we  cannot  easily  pronounce  on  his  personal  character. 
Charity  would  lead  us  to  hope,  notwithstanding  his  fondness 
for  preferment,  and  the  great  error  of  his  life,  that  he  may 
have  exemplified  in  his  private  life,  the  principles  which  he 
has  so  ably  and  so  constantly  inculcated.  On  the  subject 
of  his  religious  opinions  he  has  left  us  no  room  to  doubt. 
There  is  scarcely  to  be  found  in  any  language  or  in  any  writer, 
so  constant  a  reference  to  the  great  religious  interests  of  man, 
as  in  the  writings  of  Bacon.  There  is  nowhere  to  be  found  a 
more  profound  deference  to  the  authority  of  the  Bible.  There 
is,  perhaps,  nowhere  more  caution  displayed,  lest  the  pro 
foundness,  variety,  compass,  and  originality  of  investigation, 
should  lead  the  mind  astray,  than  in  his  investigations.  It 
was  one  of  his  recorded  sentiments — one  of  the  results  of  his 
investigations,  which  he  has  expressed  without  hesitancy  or 
qualification, — "  that  a  little  philosophy  inclineth  a  man  to 
atheism  j  but  depth  in  philosophy  bringeth  men's  minds  about 
to  religion ;  for  while  the  mind  of  man  looketh  upon  second 
causes  scattered,  it  may  sometimes  rest  in  them  and  go  no 
farther;  but  when  it  beholdeth  the  chain  of  them  confederate 
and  linked  together,  it  must  needs  fly  to  Providence  and 


THE   WORKS   OF   LORD    BACON.  161 

Deity."*  His  belief  he  has  left  us  in  a  well-written  confes 
sion  of  his  faith,  embracing  the  usual  articles  of  the  Christian 
religion.  His  prayers,  which  are  preserved,  breathe  a  spirit 
of  true  devotion,  in  a  style  and  form  which  are  not  surpassed 
by  any  compositions  of  that  period,  in  our  language.  It 
would  be  easy  to  transcribe  page  after  page  of  his  recorded 
sentiments ;  and  we  might  trace,  at  every  step  of  his  life,  his 
profound  deference  for  the  theology  of  the  Bible. 

We  do  not  believe  that  the  Christian  religion  depends  for 
its  evidences  on  the  suffrage  of  any  one  philosopher ;  or  on  the 
bright  constellation  of  names  which  have  expressed  their  pro 
found  regard  for  the  truths  of  revelation.  Still  a  Christian 
cannot  but  look  with  deep  interest  on  the  fact  that  such  men 
as  Bacon,  and  Boyle,  and  Newton,  bowed  their  mighty  intel 
lects  to  the  authority  of  revelation  \  came  and  brought  all  the 
rich  and  varied  treasures  of  their  profound  investigations,  and 
laid  them  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross;  and  spent  their  lives 
increasingly  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  God  of  Nature 
is  also  the  God  of  the  Bible.  While  we  do  not  claim  that  on 
their  authority  the  Scriptures  should  be  accredited  as  the 
word  of  God,  we  do  claim  that  they  should  be  allowed  to 
rebuke  the  flippancy  of  youthful  and  unfledged  infidelity  •  that 
they  should  be  permitted  to  summon  men  to  inquire,  before 
they  pronounce;  we  claim  that  their  authority  is  sufficient  to 
call  on  the  youthful  skeptic  to  pause,  and  to  suspect  that 
possibly  he  may  be  wrong.  When  mighty  minds  like  these 
have  left  their  recorded  assent  to  the  truths  of  the  Christian 
scheme,  it  is  not  too  much  to  ask  of  minds  of  far  less  power 
to  sit  down  and  inquire,  at  least,  whether  Christianity  may 
not  have  come  from  God.  When  Newton,  after  having  sur 
veyed  world  on  world,  and  measured  the  heavens,  and  placed 
himself  for  profound  inquiry  at  the  head  of  mankind,  sat  down 

*  Essays,  Civil  and  Moral. 
14* 


162  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

in  the  full  maturity  of  his  days,  and  passed  the  vigor  of  his 
life,  and  the  serene  evening  of  his  honoured  age  in  the  con 
templation  of  the  New  Testament;  when  Bacon,  after  having 
rescued  science  from  the  accumulated  darkness  and  rubbish 
of  two  thousand  years,  after  having  given  lessons  to  all  man 
kind  about  the  just  mode  of  investigating  nature,  and  after 
having  traversed  the  circle  of  the  sciences,  and  gained  all  that 
past  generations  had  to  teach,  and  having  carried  forward  the 
inquiry  far  into  nature,  bowed  at  every  step  to  the  authority  of 
the  Bible;  when  Hale,  learned  in  the  law,  not  only  believed 
Christianity  to  be  true,  but  adorned  the  Christian  profession 
by  a  most  humble  life ;  when  Boerhave,  profoundly  acquainted 
with  the  human  frame,  and  skilled  in  the  healing  art,  sat  with 
the  simplicity  of  a  child  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  Christ;  when 
Locke  gave  the  testimony  of  his  powerful  mind  to  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion ;  when  Davy,  first  of  chemists,  came 
on  this  subject  to  the  same  results  as  the  analyzer  of  light, 
the  inventor  of  fluxions,  and  the  demonstrator  of  the  theory 
of  gravitation — as  the  author  of  the  Novum  Organurn — and 
the  writer  of  the  treatise  on  the  Human  Understanding ;  when 
each  science  has  thus  contributed  its  founder,  its  ornament, 
and  its  head,  as  a  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  Christian  reli 
gion,  it  is  not  too  much  to  conclude  that  it  may  be  something 
different  from  priestcraft  and  imposture.  When  we  turn  from 
these  lights  of  men — these  broad  stars  that  spread  their  beams 
over  all  the  firmament  of  science,  and  seek  after  the  wander 
ing  and  dim  luminaries  of  infidelity ;  when  we  make  a  sober 
estimate  of  what  the  high-priests  of  unbelief  have  done  for  the 
advancement  of  science,  and  the  welfare  of  man,  we  are  struck 
with  the  prodigious  advance  we  have  made  into  chilly  and 
tenebrated  regions.  We  have  passed  amid  spirits  of  another 
order.  We  wander  in  climes  as  remote  almost  from  science, 
as  from  Christianity.  We  should  know  where  we  are  as  rea 
dily  by  their  superficial,  but  pompous  pretensions ;  by  dark, 


THE   WORKS    OF   LORD    BACON.  163 

but  most  confident  scientific  claims;  by  erroneous,  wandering, 
but  most  flippant  demands  in  science,  as  we  do  by  tlicir  infu 
riated  aud  bitter  raging  against  the  claims  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Who  are  these  men  ?  Volney,  Diderot,  D'Alem- 
bcrt,  Voltaire,  Paine ;  Herbert — the  best  and  greatest  of  them 
— Shaftesbury,  Tindal,  Morgan,  Bolingbrokc,  Gibbon,  Hume. 
What  have  they  ever  done  for  science  ?  What  advances  have 
they  ever  made  ?  So  far  as  we  know,  not  one  of  them  has 
any  pretensions  to  what  gives  immortality  to  the  names  of 
Boyle,  Locke,  Newton,  Bacon,  Hale.  What  valuable  fact 
have  they  ever  presented  in  science  ?  What  new  principle 
have  they  originated  or  illustrated  ?  What  department  of 
science  have  they  adorned  ?  Not  a  man  of  them  has  ever 
trod  the  regions  that  constituted  the  glory  of  England  and  of 
the  world — the  regions  of  profound  science }  of  deep  and 
penetrating  investigation  of  the  works  of  nature.  In  spite 
of  such  men,  science  would  still  have  slumbered  in  the  regions 
of  eternal  night ;  and  infidelity,  but  for  Christian  men,  might 
have  swayed  a  sceptre,  as  she  desired,  over  regions  of  profound 
and  boundless  shades  of  ignorance  and  crime.  We  care  little 
for  names  and  authorities  in  religion.  We  believe  that  reli 
gion,  natural  and  revealed,  accords  with  the  constitution  and 
course  of  nature.  We  believe  that  it  is  sustained  by  a  force 
and  compass  of  argument  that  can  be  adduced  for  the  truth 
of  no  science.  On  the  ground  of  the  independent  and  impreg 
nable  proof  of  revealed  religion,  we  are  Christians.  But  there 
are  men  who  pride  themselves  on  names.  There  arc  those 
whose  only  reason  for  an  opinion  is,  that  it  was  held  by  some 
illustrious  man.  None  are  really  so  much  under  the  influence 
of  this  feeling  as  the  infidel.  That  Hume  was  a  skeptic ;  that 
Gibbon  was  capable  of  a  sneer ;  that  Paine  was  a  scoffer ;  that 
Volney  was  an  atheist,  is  to  them  strong  as  proof  of  holy  writ. 
Hence  they  feel  that  to  doubt  is  the  most  exalted  state  of 
man ;  that  there  is  argument  enough  for  mortals  in  a  sneer 


164  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

and  a  jibe;  that  scoffing  becomes  a  human  being;  and  that  to 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  man  has  no  Father  and  no  God, 
that  he  dies  like  kindred  worms,  is  the  supremacy  of  felicity, 
and  the  perfection  of  reason.  When  such  have  been  the  apos 
tles  and  high-priests  of  unbelief — such  the  hosts  which  they 
have  mustered — we  feel  that  apart  from  all  argument  in  the 
case,  we  would  rather  accord  with  the  sentiments  of  the  great 
luminaries  of  mankind  in  science ;  and  that  it  is  not  unworthy 
of  reason  and  elevated  thought  to  suppose,  that  true  religion 
may  be  found  where  we  have  found  every  other  valuable 
blessing  for  mankind ;  and  that  the  system,  attended  every 
where  with  science,  refinement,  and  art,  and  that  has  shed 
light  on  the  intellect,  and  honour  on  the  names  of  Locke,  and 
Boyle,  and  Bacon,  is  the  system  with  which  GOD  intended  to 
lless  men. 


THE   SINNER   MADE   TO    FEEL   HIS   GUILT.          165 

v^t   '<  v 


(TJ  " 

TV 

'        s^'^'i  Lin'  ^  *:; 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1833.] 

ffmo  can  the  Sinner  be  made  to  feel  his  Guilt.  A  Discourse 
prepared  at  the  request  of  the  "  Revival  Association," 
Andover. 

THE  question,  "  How  can  the  sinner  be  made  to  feel  his 
guilt  ?"  is  one  of  the  most  momentous,  in  many  respects,  that 
can  be  presented  to  the  human  mind.  On  a  correct  answer 
depends  the  success  of  the  gospel  in  every  nation  and  in  every 
age.  Unless  men  are  made  to  feel  that  they  are  guilty,  in 
vain  do  we  offer  them  pardon,  and  in  vain  is  the  standard 
of  the  cross  lifted  up  in  their  view.  At  the  present  day,  espe 
cially,  this  question  is  invested  with  a  deeper  interest,  by  the 
revivals  of  religion  with  which  the  church  is  favoured ;  and 
which  we  have  reason  to  believe  will  extend  from  land  to 
land  as  the  great  means  of  ushering  in  the  millennial  glory. 
The  reign  of  Christ  on  earth  must  obviously  be  introduced  by 
great  excitement;  by  profound  and  anxious  inquiry;  by  a 
movement  throughout  all  Christendom,  and  reaching  into 
heathen  lands;  by  the  application  of  some  power  that  shall 
unclench  the  grasp  of  men  from  the  world,  alarm  their  fears, 
awaken  their  hopes,  and  lift  their  thoughts  to  GOD.  But  in 
any  great  religious  movement,  the  depth,  genuineness,  and 
lasting  efficacy  of  the  change  produced,  must  depend  on  men's 
views  of  their  guilt,  and  their  need  of  pardon.  As  a  mere 
question,  then,  in  the  advance  of  Christianity,  the  subject 
before  us  has  an  interest  commensurate  with  the  value  of 
Christian  truth.  No  preacher  can  be  successful  who  is  not 
able,  with  the  divine  blessing,  to  lay  open  the  sources  and  the 


166  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

hiding-places  of  guilt ;  to  bring  the  transgressor  out  to  light, 
and  to  hold  liim  there,  while  eternal  truth,  with  a  full  and 
overpowering  blaze,  shall  do  its  work,  and  justice  shall  shake 
his  frame,  and  conscience  shall  make  him  pale,  and  mercy 
shall  find  out  the  place  of  grief,  and  the  memory  of  crime  shall 
wring  tears  from  eyes  unused  to  weep.  The  question  is  often 
put  to  ministers,  by  the  awakened  sinner,  "  How  may  I  FEEL 
my  guilt,  and  be  brought  to  repentance  ?"  The  inquiry  is 
made  with  deep  emotion ;  there  is  some  honesty  and  sincerity 
about  it,  though  much  less  than  the  inquirer  supposes ;  but, 
we  need  hardly  add,  there  is  nothing  holy  in  the  feelings  from 
which  it  springs.  Yet  a  condition  in  which  a  man  will  ask 
the  question,  is  far  more  promising  than  the  leaden  sleep  in 
which  most  men  lie.  It  is  the  business  of  the  ministry  to 
answer  this  question,  and  happy  will  it  be  if  even  in  a  single 
case,  the  answer  shall  give  light  to  a  benighted  and  anxious 
mind.  We  shall  attempt  to  do  it,  by  showing  what  obstacles 
prevent  men  from  feeling  their  guilt;  that  Christianity  con 
templates  the  removal  of  these  obstacles ;  that  it  has  power 
to  demolish  them ;  and  that,  when  they  are  removed,  the 
gospel  is  fitted  to  meet  the  state  of  the  soul,  and  to  overwhelm 
it  with  the  consciousness  of  guilt. 

1.  The  first  obstacle  to  conviction  of  sin,  is  the  instinctive 
reluctance  which  all  men  feel  to  the  consciousness  of  guilt. 
The  dread  of  this,  indeed,  is  one  of  those  deep  and  immova 
ble  safeguards  which  God  has  laid  in  human  nature  itself,  for 
the  welfare  of  society.  So  painful  and  terrific  is  this  con 
sciousness  of  guilt,  that  many  men  avoid  it  by  refraining  from 
open  transgression,  when  there  is  no  better  principle  to  guard 
them.  The  certainty  that  if  they  commit  iniquity  they  must 
yet  feel  it;  that  conscience  has  an  ever-goading  sting,  and  a 
whip  of  scorpions ;  that  there  is  an  unseen  hand  to  reach  a 
fugitive — a  finger  that  can  write  his  crime  on  every  wall;  and 
«,  voice  of  blood  that  can  cry  from  the  earth  beneath  his  feck 


THE   SINNER   MADE    TO    FEEL   HIS   GUILT.          107 

may  deter  a  man  from  guilt,  when  no  higher  principle  re 
strains  him. 

This  same  fear,  however,  may  be  turned  to  the  most  perni 
cious  uses.  There  may  be  such  a  determined  purpose  of 
wickedness ;  such  a  rush  of  passion  and  headlong  indulgence ; 
such  a  propensity  to  evil  that  none  of  the  safeguards  of  virtue 
will  restrain  the  man.  Then,  when  the  crime  is  committed, 
it  becomes  a  question  how  he  may  avoid  the  consciousness 
of  it  ?  How  he  may  put  back  the  hand  of  justice  ?  How 
silence  the  voice  of  blood  ?  How  still  the  thunders  of  con 
science  and  of  law  ?  How  go  on  still  in  crime,  and  yet  not 
be  harrowed  with  remorse  ?  Here  originates  the  desire  for 
all  those  arts  of  evasion,  those  subterfuges  of  guilt,  those  self- 
delusions  which  are  made  to  set  in  upon  the  soul,  like  a  mist 
from  the  ocean,  to  shut  out  the  sun  of  truth,  and  to  elude  the 
eye  of  justice.  Here  is  the  source  of  all  the  superstition 
of  misguided  men,  of  all  the  arts  of  the  pagan  and  the  Jesuit, 
to  ward  off  the  convictions  of  a  man's  own  guilt ;  and  of  all  the 
false  systems  of  morality  and  theology;  and  here,  too,  origi 
nates  the  accelerated  love  of  pleasure  and  amusement;  the 
plunging  into  deeper  schemes  of  gain  or  ambition,  that  a  man 
may  escape  from  the  memory  of  his  crimes,  and  live  at  case, 
while  he  violates  the  laws  of  man  and  of  God. 

Such,  too,  is  the  case  with  a  sinner,  when  God  commands 
him  to  repent.  He  fears  the  consciousness  of  guilt.  lie 
dreads  the  alarms  of  conscience.  He  starts  back  from  the 
process  of  repentance  and  of  a  return  to  God.  That  instinctive 
dread  of  this  consciousness  which  was  one  of  the  safeguards 
by  which  God  would  have  deterred  him  from  the  commission 
of  crime,  he  now  perverts  to  a  hinderance  to  his  return.  He 
looks  upon  this  return,  upon  a  state  of  conviction  for  sin,  as  a 
dark  and  starless  way;  a  condition  of  gloom  and  sadness; 
a  course  of  terror  where  no  light  shines  on  the  patli  but  the 
Hashes  of  the  lightning  of  justice,  leaving  the  darkness  deeper 


168  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

and  more  dreadful.  "  The  spirit  of  a  man/'  says  Solomon, 
"  can  sustain  his  infirmity,  but  a  wounded  spirit,  who  can 
bear  ?"  He  anticipates  a  protracted  process  in  the  work  of 
conviction — what  he  has  learned  in  the  books  of  an  older 
theology,  but  not  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  to  dread  as  a  long 
and  perilous  "law-work"  on  the  soul;  a  dark  and  dismal  jour 
ney  for  weeks,  or  months,  or  years,  across  a  barren  waste,  till 
he  emerges  at  last  in  the  region  of  light  and  peace.  The 
necessity  of  feeling  guilty,  even  for  a  few  moments,  would 
deter  and  frighten  him.  How  much  more  so,  when  he  has 
been  led  to  suppose  that  he  must  go  bowed  down  with  this 
consciousness  for  months  or  years,  before  he  can  find  peace 
of  conscience  or  reconciliation  with  God. 

Now  it  is  clear  that  with  this  apprehension,  no  man  will  go 
through  the  process  of  repentance,  if  he  can  help  it.  It  is 
clear,  too,  that  in  the  workings  of  human  wickedness  for  six 
thousand  years,  more  than  one  way  will  be  found  out  to  avoid 
it.  Hence  every  man  has  a  shield  to  throw  before  himself,  to 
ward  off  the  consciousness  of  guilt.  And  hence  we  are  com 
pelled  to  make  our  way  to  the  conscience,  against  this  barrier 
which  the  sinner  has  raised ;  in  the  face  of  the  mighty  deter 
mination  not  to  be  lashed  with  a  whip  of  scorpions ;  and  to 
follow  the  man  through  a  thousand  hiding-places,  and  in  a 
labyrinth  of  evasion,  before  the  arrows  of  truth  reach  the 
victim,  and  the  quiver  is  fixed  in  the  panting  heart. 

One  part  of  the  sinner's  apprehension  is  true ;  the  other  is 
not.  It  is  true,  that  we  seek  and  desire  to  overwhelm  him 
with  the  consciousness  of  .guilt ;  and  that  we  wish  to  inflict 
pangs  in  the  soul  that  shall  start  him  from  his  seat  of  ease, 
and  teach  the  tear  of  penitence  to  flow  down  the  cheek  of 
guilt.  But  it  is  not  true,  that  religion  seeks  to  throw  him 
into  a  land  of  storms,  and  gloom,  for  weeks  and  years. 
Religion  comes  with  pardons  in  her  hand  and  peace  in  her 
train.  The  sunshine  of  mercy  beams  through  the  storm,  and 


THE   SINNER   MADE   TO   FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  1(39 

even  while  the  tempest  pours,  and  the  thunder  rolls,  it  has 
already,  though  unseen,  painted  the  bow  of  hope  in  the  dis 
tant  sky.  The  idea  that  men  must  suffer  pangs  and  gloom 
for  years ;  that  they  must  go  through  the  tremendous  and 
protracted  process  of  what,  in  old  theology,  is  called  "  the 
law-work/'  is  what  a  false  philosophy  has  added  to  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  Nothing  there  forbids  the  thought,  that  they 
may  at  once  exercise  repentance  and  be  pardoned.  One  emo 
tion  of  genuine  sorrow  for  sin ;  one  act  of  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  will  secure  pardon  and  eternal  life.  Nor  will 
the  soul  be  better  fitted  for  the  change  by  long  rebellion  in  a 
state  of  anxiety  and  gloom ;  by  stern  and  stubborn  resistance 
when  sinners  know  their  duty;  by  a  war  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  protracted  for  months  and  years,  than  by  a  frank  and 
ingenuous  acknowledgment  of  guilt  at  once,  and  a  rushing  to 
the  arms  of  Christ's  outstretched  mercy.  We  speak  much 
of  the  improvements  of  theology  in  modern  times.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  practical  advance  consists  in  removing  this  cum 
bersome  burden  from  the  gospel  of  Christ ;  and  in  the  grand 
truth,  now  beginning  to  be  felt,  that  the  gospel  may  convey 
the  balm  of  consolation  to  a  wounded  spirit  at  once;  and  that 
the  Great  Physician  of  souls  needs  not  that  the  gangrene  of 
sin  should  prey  on  the  vitals  for  years;  that  the  leprosy 
should  spread  and  rage,  and  torment  the  soul,  through  many 
dark  and  gloomy  months,  before  the  healing  hand  can.  be 
stretched  out  to  restore.  The  sinner  may  be  relieved  at  once. 
The  first  terrific  view  of  guilt  may  be  followed  by  the  tender 
voice  of  pardon,  and  the  sight  of  a  merciful  Redeemer  speak 
ing  peace. 

2.  Closely  allied  to  this,  is  the  second  obstacle  which  I  shall 
mention,  viz.,  An  unwillingness  to  avow  and  confess  guilt,  even 
when  the  mind  is  conscious  of  it.  This  also  is  an  instinctive 
feeling,  and  is  another  of  the  safeguards  thrown  around  the 
human  heart,  but  capable  also  of  great  perversion  The  fact 
VOL.  I  i; 


170  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

that  guilt  must  be  avowed  if  felt,  that  others  must  know  it, 
and  that  the  condition  of  the  world  is  such  as  to  extort  the 
confession  of  it,  is  one  of  the  many  means  which  God  has  em 
ployed  to  prevent  its  commission.  Every  man  knows  that 
if  he  is  guilty  and  is  conscious  of  it,  it  must  be  revealed. 
The  burning  cheek,  even  when  he  wishes  to  drive  the  blood  to 
the  heart,  will  betray  him.  The  eye,  when  he  would  have  it 
fixed  and  calm,  will  be  distracted  and  turn  away.  The  brow 
that  he  would  have  smooth  and  calm,  will  be  clouded.  The 
thoughts,  which  he  would  "  drive  down  into  the  soul,"  will 
start  up  with  living  power,  and  shed  a  trembling  influence 
over  the  whole  frame.  lie  will  be  betrayed.  God  has  guarded 
this  matter  too  well  to  suffer  him  to  escape.  Society  is  organ 
ized  to  bring  him  out.  Laws,  and  jurors,  and  judges;  the 
injured  man  or  society,  become  spies  upon  his  movements, 
and  have  an  interest  in  bringing  guilt  from  its  hiding-place; 
and  all  the  array  of  witnesses,  and  all  the  terrors  of  conscience, 
and  the  processes  of  judgment,  and  justice,  are  pressing  upon 
the  man  to  make  him  confess  his  crimes. 

Yet  there  is  nothing  which  a  man  is  less  willing  to  do. 
And  hence  arise  all  the  evasions  in  court,  and  in  common  life, 
to  suppress  the  evidence  of  crime  ]  all  the  arts  of  dishonest 
trade,  and  no  small  part  of  the  wiles  of  policy,  and  ambition, 
and  of  the  perverted  codes  of  morals  and  religion  among  men. 
Hence,  too,  the  efforts  of  guilty  men  to  obliterate  the  marks 
of  a  guilty  conscience  which  God  has  fixed  in  the  eye,  and  on 
the  cheek,  and  in  the  tremblings  of  the  frame,  to  proclaim  a 
man's  own  guilt.  Thus  guilty  youth  must  proclaim  its  crime, 
but  hardened  villany  shall  have  learned  to  fix  the  eye,  and 
command  the  nerves,  and  fortify  the  cheek  against  the  rush 
of  blood  at  the  consciousness  of  guilt.  And  the  most  hardened 
villain  may  sometimes  go  through  society,  or  rise  to  posts 
of  honour,  accredited  as  a  man  of  virtue,  until  his  crimes  shall 
be  too  much  for  the  earth  to  bear,  and  an  unexpected  array 


THE   SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  171 

of  circumstances  shall  engulf  his  soul,  and  his  name,  in  the 
depths  of  infamy. 

All  this  operates  with  tremendous  power  in  religion.  There 
is  no  man  on  earth  who  more  dreads  an  ingenuous  avowal 
of  guilt ;  who  is  more  reluctant  to  admit  the  full  charge  of 
(jlod  against  himself,  than  the  immoral,  or  the  moral  man. 
To  admit  that  he  is  guilty  and  lost;  that  all  God  has  said 
of  the  worst  of  men,  and  nothing  worse  could  be  said,  is  true 
of  him;  to  admit  that  his  heart  has  been  proud,  selfish,  un 
grateful,  unsubdued ;  that  he  has  violated  all  laws ;  despised 
all  "  entreaties  ;"  held  in  contempt  prophets,  martyrs,  and  the 
Son  of  God ;  and  that  the  eternal  home  of  the  drunkard,  the 
adulterer,  and  the  pirate  whom  he  would  not  admit  into  his 
presence,  would  be  the  abode  jit  for  him  : — all  this  is  too 
humbling,  and  before  a  man  will  come  to  this,  he  will  flee  to 
every  hiding-place  of  guilt;  adopt  any  system  of  religion, 
however  absurd ;  or  associate  with  any  society,  however  much 
he  may  despise  it.  Hence  one  class  of  men  pray  us  to  pro 
phecy  to  them  smooth  things.  Another  become  angry  at 
faithful  dealing.  Another  run  away  from  the  sanctuary,  and 
seek  smoother  preachers.  Another  devote  the  Sabbath  to 
gain,  or  study,  or  reading  novels,  or  newspapers,  or  books  that 
lie  along  the  borders  of  religion,  that  they  may  not  wholly  fall 
out  with  their  consciences  for  violating  the  Sabbath.  Another 
seek  refuge  in  a  form  of  godliness ;  and  another  in  those 
places  where  the  Saviour  is  denied,  and  they  are  told  there 
is  no  danger  that  a  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment." 

Yet  in  a  return  to  God,  it  is  indispensable  that  there  should 
be  a  full  and  frank  confession  of  guilt.  The  very  idea  of  re 
pentance  involves  it,  and  the  man  must  be  the  herald  of  his 
own  guilt,  as  far  as  the  knowledge  of  his  penitence  may  go. 
It  must  be  made  in  the  face  of  companions  who  will  regard 
him  as  weak  and  superstitious ;  before  even  parents  who  may 


172  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

despise  religion  and  its  God  ;  in  view  of  elevated  and  refined 
society  amid  which,  the  penitent  has  moved;  before  asso 
ciates,  partners  in  crime  or  amusement ;  in  the  face  of  thought 
less  and  deriding  men  ;  and  before  the  wide  world.  Nay, 
more,  it  must  be  made  before  the  universe,  with  a  willingness 
that  every  created  intelligence  may  mark  the  flowing  tear  of 
shame  and  grief;  every  eye  witness  the  heavings  of  the  guilty 
bosom ;  and  every  ear  hear  the  sigh  of  the  soul  contrite  for 
sin.  God  himself,  the  great  Being  who  surveys  all  hearts, 
and  against  whom  the  soul  has  long  sinned,  is  also  to  witness 
the  subdued  and  humble  tread  of  the  haughty  man,  as  with 
bending  head  and  a  face  bathed  with  tears,  and  with  faltering 
steps,  he  approaches  the  throne  of  grace,  confessing  that  God 
is  right,  and  he  is  wrong,  even  when  he  has  no  assurance  yet 
of  his  favour,  or  that  he  may  not  frown  him  into  hell. 

Now  it  is  clear  that  against  this  avowal  of  guilt,  there  will 
stand  opposed  all  the  hatefulness  of  shame;  all  the  pride 
of  rank  and  wealth ;  all  the  influence  of  miserable  self-valua 
tion;  all  the  flattery  of  friends  and  of  men's  own  hearts;  all 
the  pride  of  station  and  office;  all  the  incense  offered  to 
splendid  talents  and  attainments;  all  the  aspirings  of  ambi 
tion;  and  all  the  allurements  of  pleasure.  Where  is  the  man 
that  would  not  rather  climb  the  steeps  of  praise  with  incense 
burning  around  him,  and  the  multitude  rendering  homage  at 
his  feet,  than  be  found  pleading  for  mercy  with  bitter  tears, 
or  weeping  in  the  prayer-meeting,  or  in  his  office,  or  counting- 
room  ?  Where  is  the  man  that  would  not  rather  recline  on 
his  bed  of  down,  and  seek  enjoyment  in  his  splendid  abode, 
than  weep  with  Jesus  Christ  in  the  garden  or  on  the  moun 
tains?  Where  is  the  daughter  of  gayety  that  would  not 
rather  seek  for  pleasure  in  the  theatre,  or  be  the  admiration 
of  the  splendid  circle,  than  like  Mary  bathe  the  feet  of  Jesus 
with  tears  ? 

3.   A   third  obstacle   to  conviction  of  sin,  is  the  influence 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.          173 

of  false  philosophy  and  unscriptural  opinions.  These  I  shall 
just  enumerate.  1.  The  ancient  Pharisee  had  his  system 
of  self-righteousness  reduced  to  statute,  and  intrenched  with 
subtle  arguments,  to  oppose  the  claims  of  God.  The  modern 
man  of  self-righteousness  has  a  system  just  like  his,  and  one 
equally  insurmountable  by  human  means.  2.  The  apostles 
found  the  world  organized  into  sects,  and  names  of  philosophy 
all  standing  in  array  against  the  command  to  repent.  The 
Stoic  held  that  all  things  were  ordered  by  the  Fates  over 
which  he  had  no  control ;  and,  of  course,  he  had  no  conscious 
ness  of  crime.  The  Epicureans  held  that  pleasure  is  the 
summit m  bonunij  and  the  common  interpretation  was,  that  all 
pleasure  was  to  be  enjoyed,  and,  of  course,  he  felt  no  guilt  for 
sensuality  and  gross  indulgence.  The  gods  of  the  Greeks 
were  represented  to  be  as  bad  as  any  man  could  wish  to  be ; 
and  as  the  standards  of  morals  among  all  men  will  be  formed 
from  the  character  of  the  gods,  they  felt  no  obligation  to 
repent  until  they  reached  a  point  which  they  were  sure  not  to 
reach — a  descent  to  the  same  level  of  depravity  as  their  gods. 
Thus  Augustine  says  that  "  the  Gentile  gods  are  most  unclean 
spirits,  desiring  under  the  shapes  of  some  earthly  creatures,  to 
be  accounted  gods,  and,  in  their  proud  impurity,  taking  plea 
sure  in  those  obscenities,  as  in  divine  honours.  Hence  arose 
those  routs  of  gods,  and  others  of  other  nations  as  well  as 
those  we  are  now  in  hand  with,  tlie  senate  of  selected  gods — 
selected  not  for  virtue,  but  for  villany"*  The  same  thing  is 
to  be  encountered  in  all  pagan  lands ;  and  hence  one  of  the 
peculiar  difficulties  of  the  missionary  is  to  make  the  heathen 
feel  their  guilt.  3.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  false  sys 
tems  of  civilized  lands.  Systems  of  morals  are  so  framed  as 
to  evade  the  conviction  of  guilt.  This  is  eminently  true  of 
most  of  the  forms  of  infidelity.  An  absolute  and  decided 


City  of  God.     Book  vii.  chap.  33. 
15* 


174  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

fatalism  has  found  its  way  commonly  into  the  scheme  of  the 
Deist.  If  he  has  admitted  the  existence  of  guilt  at  all,  it  has 
been  only  of  those  enormous  crimes  which  a  proper  regard  to 
the  opinions  of  men  would  not  allow  him  to  deny.  The  ten 
dency  of  the  scheme  has  been  to  obliterate  the  memory  of 
crime,  and  to  leave  men  to  the  indulgence  of  all  mad  and  fero 
cious  passions.  Hence  France,  under  the  reign  of  this  terrible 
system,  was  drenched  in  blood,  and  men  were  taught  to  feel 
that  carnage  and  lust  were  not  offensive  in  the  eyes  of  heaven. 
Hence  Hobbes  held  that  all  property  should  be  common,  and 
that  a  man  had  a  right  to  it  wherever  he  could  find  it — the 
same  doctrine  that  we  have  had  among  us ;  and  hence  Hume 
left  it  as  his  recorded  opinion,  that  adultery  should  be  prac 
ticed  if  men  would  obtain  the  chief  benefit  of  life,  and  that 
suicide  is  lawful.  With  such  views  of  laws  and  morals,  re 
pentance  was  out  of  the  question.  When  a  man  by  his  very 
system  was  allowed  the  indulgence  of  every  passion,  for  what 
was  he  to  be  grieved  at  the  close  of  life  ?  4.  Men  often  adopt 
systems  of  physical  philosophy  whose  tendency  is  to  destroy 
all  sense  of  obligation  to  repentance.  One  man  believes  the 
soul  to  be  material,  and,  of  course,  that  he  is  under  no  obliga 
tion  to  seek  any  moral  change.  Another  supposes  disease 
of  the  mind  to  be  like  that  of  the  body;  a  misfortune  indeed, 
but  not  truly  criminal.  A  man  of  science  will  often  run  his 
views  of  materialism  through  the  subjects  of  morals.  Thought 
is  but  some  motion  in  the  brain  or  nervous  system.  Passion, 
or  emotion,  is  but  a  movement  of  animal  spirits.  Reason, 
fancy,  conscience,  are  but  some  comformations  of  matter,  and 
in  these  certainly  no  man  is  bound  to  make  a  change.  An 
other  holds  that  depravity  is  the  very  nature  of  man.  That 
he  is  born  with  it  as  an  original  propensity  of  the  same  kind 
as  that  of  the  tiger  or  adder.  He  holds  that  no  human  power 
can  reach  that ; — that  it  must  be  counteracted  by  the  infusion 
of  some  principle  equally  independent  of  the  will,  of  a  contrary 


THE    SINNER   MADE   TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  175 

tendency ;  and  that  all  his  efforts  would  be  like  attcr&jrt»g4e 
aid  the  Almighty  in  propelling  the  planets.  With  such  views 
we  call  on  him  in  vain  to  exercise  repentance  towards  God. 
f).  A  fifth  perversion  respects  the  doctrine  of  ability.  The 
man  avers  that  he  cannot  repent,  and  while  this  stands  in  the 
way,  there  is  an  end  of  the  matter.  It  would  be  in  vain  to 
call  on  a  man  to  remove  a  mountain,  or  to  raise  the  dead.' 
We  might  as  well  proceed  to  the  tombs,  and  summon  their 
lifeless  tenants  to  come  forth.  And  especially  is  this  true 
when  the  plea  of  inability  is  one  which  the  man  has  not  made 
up  for  himself,  but  has  learned  from  others  in  places  of  spi 
ritual  power,  and  can  defend  by  the  endless  dogmas  of  the 
church,  and  find  in  the  almost  infinite  tomes  of  theology.  No 
man  would  dare  to  invent  such  a  plea  for  himself;  nor  could 
he  keep  himself  long  in  countenance  with  such  a  pretence, 
if  he  were  left  alone.  It  is  so  obviously  a  reflection  on  the 
goodness  and  justice  of  God;  such  a  manifest  violation  of  all 
his  own  views  of  right,  and  of  all  the  dictates  of  his  own  con 
science  ;  so  plainly  in  the  face  of  the  Bible,  that  a  man  would 
be  compelled  to  forsake  it  if  he  had  not  the  countenance  of 
some  of  the  better  class  of  Christians.  I  verily  believe,  indeed, 
that  Satan  never  furnished  to  sinners  a  more  obvious,  useful, 
and  unanswerable  defence  of  impenitence,  than  has  thus  been 
furnished  by  the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  Tell  a  man  that  he 
cannot  repent,  or  love  God,  or  obey  him,  and  your  work  will 
be  done.  The  effect  of  one  such  dogma  will  go  through  life ; 
will  shed  a  baleful  influence  on  large  regions  of  Christian 
truth ;  and,  like  the  tree  of  Upas,  or  the  Siroc  of  the  desert, 
will  shed  a  desolation  all  around  the  moral  feelings  of  a  man  in 
regard  to  his  duties  towards  God.  G.  Men  pervert  the  doc 
trine  of  election  and  decrees,  and  either  with  mistaken  views 
of  the  doctrine,  or  by  design,  bar  up  all  access  to  their  souls 
against  truth  adapted  to  produce  the  conviction  of  guilt. 
4.  A  fourth  reason  why  men  do  not  feel  their  guilt,  is 


176  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

found  in  the  fact,  that  they  have  different  views  of  sin  from 
those  of  God.  He  commands  repentance  on  the  ground  of 
what  He  believes  to  be  the  human  character,  and  repentance 
naturally  results  from  the  sinner's  entertaining  the  same  views. 
When  our  feelings  coincide  with  those  of  God,  it  is  impossible 
but  that  men  should  repent.  Yet  on  no  subject  do  men  differ 
more  from  their  Maker,  than  on  this.  He  has  declared  His 
view  in  every  possible  form.  No  man  can  mistake  what  God 
thinks  of  him,  if  he  will  give  credit  to  his  declarations.  He 
has  expressed  views  of  every  man,  which  no  human  law,  and 
no  poetic  description,  has  ever  expressed  of  the  worst  of  men. 
To  charge  a  man  with  being  a  hater  of  God,  is  to  sum  up  all 
crimes  in  one ;  and  beyond  that  charge  you  cannot  go.  Yet 
God  has  charged  this  on  man.  He  has  done  it  not  as  an 
abstract  and  cold  proceeding ;  not  as  a  matter  of  poetry,  ro 
mance,  or  declamation ;  not  merely  to  produce  terror,  but  as 
the  result  of  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  and 
of  the  secret  deeds  of  every  man.  He  has  done  it,  too,  in  the 
most  solemn  and  tender  manner.  In  the  midst  of  judgments, 
in  his  threatenings,  in  his  promises,  and  in  the  dying  groans 
and  agonies  of  his  own  Son. 

"We  might  ask  of  sinners,  have  you  ever  sympathized  with 
God  in  his  views  of  sin,  as  expressed  in  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ?  Have  you  never  practically  felt  that  God  was  mis 
guided  and  deceived  in  supposing  that  your  sins  demanded 
such  a  sacrifice  ?  Have  you  ever  looked  on  the  dying  suffer 
ings  of  the  Son  of  God,  bleeding  between  murderers ;  cursed 
by  men;  rejected  by  his  nation;  subjected  to  the  malignant 
devices  of  the  enemy  of  God ;  and  forsaken  by  his  Father, — 
and  felt  that  your  sins  deserved  woes  like  these  ?  Have  you 
ever  felt  that  it  would  be  right  that  God  should  subject  you 
to  woes  like  those  of  Gethsemane — prolonged  through  revolv 
ing  ages  in  eternity ;  that  it  would  be  right  in  him  to  waken 
his  "  thunder  red  with  uncommon  wrath/'  and  summon  the 


THE    SINNER    MADE   TO    FEEL   HIS    GUILT.          177 

universe  to  witness  your  sufferings  for  sin ;  that  it  would  be 
right  to  forsake  you,  and  to  pour  into  your  own  soul  the  deep 
sorrows  of  abandonment,  as  he  did  into  the  bosom  of  his  Son 
on  the  cross  ?  Have  you  ever  felt  that  it  was  right  in  God  to 
annex  eternal  woes  to  crime  committed  in  this  world,  and  that 
your  sins  deserved  the  endless  damnation  of  hell  ?  Have  you 
ever  gone  and  cast  an  anxious  eye  into  the  world  of  wo,  and 
realized  that  infinite  despair  and  gloom  were  the  proper  recom 
pense  of  unbelief  and  sin  in  this  life  ?  We  should  not  need  to 
pause  for  a  reply.  Every  impenitent  sinner  knows  that  he  has 
never  felt  this.  On  this  whole  matter  he  has  differed  from  his 
Maker.  The  sentiment  of  his  heart  is  that  God  is  severe,  arbi 
trary,  and  cruel  in  dooming  the  soul  to  penal  and  inextinguish 
able  fires.  Had  he  the  views  of  sin  which  Jesus  Christ  had 
when  he  bled  on  the  cross,  he  would  repent.  Had  he  the  views 
which  the  eternal  Father  had  when  he  appointed  endless  woes 
as  a  recompense,  he  would  weep  that  God  is  laid  under  a 
necessity,  if  I  may  so  speak,  to  defile  and  mar  the  beauty 
of  his  universe  with  the  smoke  of  an  eternal  hell.  With 
those  views  he  has  commanded  men  to  repent.  And  it  is 
needless  to  add,  that  while  they  differ  from  their  Maker,  "  far 
as  from  the  centre  thrice  to  the  utmost  pole;"  while  they 
regard  sin  as  a  trifle ;  hell  as  an  arbitrary  appointment,  a  place 
of  holy  martyrdom  in  the  cause  of  injured  innocence;  and  the 
scenes  of  Calvary  as  a  pompous  show,  an  unmeaning  display, 
and  a  gorgeous  parade,  they  will  not  repent.  This  single 
reason  would  account  for  the  fact  that  men  will  not  repent 
of  their  sins. 

5.  A  fifth  cause  is  found  in  absorption  in  the  things  of  this 
world.  How  can  a  man  repent  whose  mind  is  wh.olly  occu 
pied  with  the  business  of  gain  ?  It  fills  all  his  time  ;  engages 
all  his  energies ;  taxes  all  his  powers.  The  world  addresses 
him  a  thousand  times  where  the  gospel  does  once,  and  with 
prodigious  advantage.  It  is  with  him  in  his  family ;  amid  his 


178  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

friends ;  in  his  counting-room ;  in  the  sanctuary ;  in  solitude ; 
on  the  Sabbath ;  and  in  all  the  periods  when  other  men  find 
leisure  for  reading  or  devotion.  How  can  a  man  repent  whose 
soul  is  engrossed  with  the  wily  policy  of  ambition ;  who  seeks 
office,  fame,  applause;  on  whose  favours  flatterers  hang,  and 
around  whose  steps  thousands  are  offering  the  incense  of  adu 
lation  j  whose  very  business  is  a  species  of  evading  the  right 
road  of  honesty,  and  travelling  in  just  such  a  devious  path  as 
the  sinner  loves  to  tread  ?  How  will  the  man  repent  who  is 
wholly  engrossed  with  the  toils  of  professional  life  ?  Every 
moment  calls  him  from  the  great  work  of  the  soul,  and  de 
mands  his  time  in  the  business  of  his  calling.  How  will  she 
repent  who  gives  her  life  to  amusement  ?  Will  she  enter  the 
theatre,  or  the  gay  circle,  with  the  tear  of  penitence  on  her 
cheek,  or  her  eyes  red  with  grief  for  sin  ?  Will  she  seek  her 
closet,  and  her  Saviour,  and  bedew  his  feet  with  tears,  as  a 
preparation  for  the  scenes  of  gayety,  and  of  song  ?  And  when 
such  scenes  engross  the  soul,  we  wonder  not  that  the  command 
of  God  is  unheeded,  and  the  ways  of  impenitence  still  loved; 
we  wonder  not  that  repentance  is  postponed  from  youth  to  man 
hood — from  manhood  to  old  age — and  again  in  old  age  is  still 
deferred  to  some  future  time.  Now  is  the  time  for  innocent 
pleasure,  is  the  language  of  the  young,  and  not  the  time 
of  sorrow — forgetting  that  there  is  no  innocence  but  in  the 
love  of  God,  and  no  true  enjoyment  but  in  the  hopes  of  reli 
gion.  Now  is  the  time  to  attend  to  my  great  affairs  of  life, 
says  the  man  in  middle  life — forgetting  that  there  is  no  affair 
of  life  so  great  as  that  of  religion,  and  that  to  provide  for 
future  years  may  be  to  lay  up  gold  for  some  thankless  heir, 
a  wretch,  ruined  by  this  very  gold,  when  he  is  in  the  grave, 
and  when  to  him  gold  may  be  valueless.  Now  is  the  time, 
we  hear  even  from  the  faltering  lips  of  old  age,  for  me  to 
enjoy  the  results  of  a  life  of  industry,  and  to  find  repose  in 
my  declining  years — when  he  has  no  repose,  and  every 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  179 

thing    in    his    circumstances    admonishes    him    to    prepare 
to  die. 

We  repeat,  we  wonder  not  that  men  do  not  repent.  And  we 
add,  that  all  this  is  so  absorbing,  so  well  arranged,  so  interwoven 
with  all  the  business  of  this  life,  so  adapted  to  every  passion, 
to  every  age,  to  every  employment,  that  it  bears  indubitable 
marks  of  being  under  the  guidance  of  some  presiding  spirit  of 
evil.  It  is  part  of  one  great  plan,  bearing  the  impress  of  one 
master-mind  of  wickedness,  and  arraying  all  the  mighty  pas 
sions  of  men,  and  all  the  ofliccs  and  employments  of  life,  in 
one  gigantic  enterprise  against  God.  See  how  these  things 
meet  a  man  on  every  hand,  oppose  all  our  appeals,  stand  alike 
to  resist  the  impression  when  the  law  speaks  out  its  thunders, 
and  when  "the  gospel,  in  strains  as  sweet  as  angels  use,  whis 
pers  peace/'  These  temptations  arise  from  all  that  is  winning 
and  attractive  in  the  eyes  of  men.  In  moments  of  seriousness, 
when  the  mind  is  disposed  to  thought,  and  half  resolved  to 
repent,  some  new  form  of  vanity,  or  some  new  scheme  of  gain, 
with  gaudy  colours,  will  burst  upon  the  view,  and,  at  once,  all 
serious  thought  is  banished.  In  times  of  deep  anxiety,  some 
friend  invites  the  sinner  to  a  scene  of  amusement ;  or  derides 
his  thoughtfulness  ;  or  calls  him  a  Methodist  or  a  Puritan ; 
and,  ashamed  of  religion,  he  snaps  the  silken  cord  that  was 
drawing  him  to  God;  thrusts  back  the  hand  that  was  dissolving 
the  chains  of  the  world ;  puts  out  the  sun  that  began  to  shed 
its  beams  on  his  path ;  and  covers  with  a  frown  the  counte 
nance  of  God  which  had  begun  to  beam  benignantly  on  his 
return.  All  these  temptations  come  under  the  influence  of 
the  tendercst  earthly  friends.  The  authority  of  a  father  may 
recall  him  from  the  place  of  prayer,  and  demand  his  continu 
ance  in  the  ways  of  sin.  The  example  and  entreaties  of  a 
brother,  or  a  sister,  or  the  loved  or  tender  voice  of  a  mother, 
often  check  all  seriousness ;  and  her  hand,  awful  abuse  of  a 
mother's  power,  opens  new  sources  of  pleasure,  and  demands 


180  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

the  presence  of  a  daughter,  while,  even  in  advancing  years, 
she  seeks  the  insipid  and  senseless  joys  of  a  gay  and  mis 
guided  world. 

6.  A  sixth  reason  why  men  do  not  feel  their  guilt,  is  found 
in  the  ascendency  and  power  of  some  plan  of  unfinished  crime; 
in  some  scheme  of  known  and  deliberate  wickedness  that  re 
quires  months  or  years  for  its  completion.  To  repent  now 
would  demand  that  the  man  should  break  off  that  plan,  arrest 
his  gains,  or  stifle  his  ambition.  He  is  now  engaged  in  a 
successful  scheme  of  gain  or  gratification.  Some  passion  he 
fully  resolves  to  indulge,  even  at  the  expense  of  virtue  and  his 
soul.  Some  scheme  of  vengeance  he  intends  to  fill  up  and 
accomplish,  even  should  he  die  in  the  attempt.  Some  work 
of  supplanting  a  rival,  and  of  humbling  a  foe,  he  intends  to 
effect — though  by  the  toil  of  years,  and  at  the  peril  of  his 
soul.  Thus  the  man  engaged  in  the  slave-trade ;  in  the  traffic 
of  ardent  spirits;  in  unlawful  speculation;  in  unjust  gains  in 
merchandise ;  in  a  career  of  licentious  pleasure ;  in  the  hall 
of  gambling;  in  the  business  of  rapine,  murder,  and  blood, 
intends  to  complete  his  scheme ;  and  in  vain  does  conscience 
now  lift  its  voice,  and  the  heavy  thunders  of  justice  echo  from 
heaven;  or  even  damnation  roll  its  terrors  along  his  path. 
Now  there  is  no  voice  of  tenderness  or  of  justice — no  appeal 
to  his  conscience,  his  fears,  or  his  hopes — that  can  reach 
his  heart. 

Yet  nothing  is  further  from  this  man's  feelings  than  an 
intention  never  to  repent.  No  man  has  more  good  designs; 
none  more  pious  purposes ;  none  more  heavenly  resolves. 
Good  intentions  are  made  every  day,  renewed  each  periodical 
season  of  his  life,  with  the  solemnity  and  regularity  of  the 
mile-stone  that  moves  not,  but  will  tell  you  how  far  you  have 
gone,  and  how  near  you  are  to  your  journey's  end.  There  he 
stands  filled  with  good  resolves ;  fired  with  noble  purposes 
always  for  future  years,  and,  if  intentions  constitute  goodness, 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL   HIS    GUILT.  181 

one  of  the  best  of  men.  Little  do  we  wonder  that  God  grants 
to  so  few  men  repentance  unto  life.  In  all  the  catalogue  of 
crimes  of  which  mortal  men  stand  accused,  we  deem  tJiis  state 
of  mind  least  to  be  envied,  and  lying  least  near  the  fountains 
of  mercy.  We  love  an  honest  man — we  were  about  to  say 
honest  even  in  sin.  But  who  can  love  a  man  whose  purpose 
now  is  to  rebel  against  God;  to  devote  his  strength  and  talent 
to  the  business  of  setting  aside  the  plain  demands  of  con 
science  and  of  duty,  with  a  cold,  unfeeling  resolve — a  biting 
sarcasm  on  the  claims  of  the  Almighty — to  abuse  his  patience 
as  long  as  he  can,  and  then  give  to  him  the  tears  of  the  croco 
dile  for  doing  what  he  always  meant  to  do  ;  and  the  whimper 
ing  grief  of  enfeebled  age,  when  the  hands  are  no  longer 
strong  enough  for  purposes  of  evil,  and  the  palsied  tongue  can 
no  longer  calumniate  his  name. 

O 

The  work  of  evading  the  demands  of  the  gospel  is,  there 
fore,  one  of  time,  and  toil,  and  skill.  The  obstructions  which 
the  gospel  meets  every  time  it  is  preached,  are  the  accumula 
tions  of  centuries,  and  the  result  of  no  small  part  of  the  plans 
of  men.  It  is  the  profoundest  scheme  in  this  world  of  sin, 
the  most  gigantic  enterprise  that  men  ever  formed,  to  go 
through  this  world,  committing  sin  every  day,  and  yet  evad 
ing  remorse  of  conscience ;  indulging  in  guilty  passions,  and 
yet  escaping  the  thunders  of  the  law;  gaining  as  much  of  the 
world  as  a  man  pleases,  and  yet  not  harrowed  in  his  solitary 
moments  by  the  accusings  of  conscience ;  passing  amid  the 
blightings  of  God's  indignation,  and  yet  not  terrified;  and 
hearing  all  the  time  the  appeals  of  mercy,  and  yet  not  moved. 
Never  was  there  so  vast  a  scheme  of  wickedness,  so  compli 
cated,  elaborate,  and  compacted  on  any  other  subject.  Philo 
sophy  here  has  lent  its  aid ;  poetry  its  charms ;  eloquence  its 
appeals ;  false  theology  its  alliance ;  learning  its  skill ;  age  its 
experience ;  and  youth  its  ardour,  in  forming  plans  to  oppose 
the  obvious  claim  of  the  gospel.  And  it  is  complete.  While 

VOL.  I.  16 


182  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

this  influence  governs  the  sinner,  what  cares  he  for  the  groans 
of  Jesus  Christ ,  or  the  offers  of  mercy  ;  or  the  judgment-seat 
of  G-od ;  or  the  glories  of  heaven  ;  or  the  pains  of  hell  ?  What 
cares  he  that  we  appeal  to  him  by  every  thing  that  is  sacred 
in  heaven,  and  terrible  in  despair;  that  is  tender  in  love,  and 
bleeding  in  mercy,  or  that  is  infinite  in  the  interests  of  his 
own  soul,  or  terrible  in  the  future  scenes  of  wo  ?  To  all 
these  appeals  he  is  indifferent.  His  Protean  scheme  meets 
all  this.  He  has  heard  it  a  thousand  times ;  and  a  thousand 
times  been  practicing  the  art  of  hearing  it  with  unconcern.  He 
has  learned  to  meet  God  at  every  point  •  to  parry  the  gospel  at 
every  turn ;  and  to  go  from  the  sanctuary  as  coolly  as  if  he 
had  listened  to  an  address  to  sepulchral  monuments.  In  this 
unholy  work  men  pass  their  lives  ;  and  some  of  their  last 
efforts  in  sinking  to  the  grave,  are  to  frame  excuses  for  not 
repenting  and  turning  to  God.  We  marvel  not,  that  no  man 
was  ever  renewed  to  repentance  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God;  and 
we  love  to  leave  our  ministry  there,  and  to  feel  that  there 
is  one  power  that  can  crush  the  excuses  of  the  sinner  at 
once,  and  bend  him,  weeping,  at  the  feet  of  mercy.  It  is 
a  work  worthy  of  God.  And,  assuredly,  if  there  is  any 
doctrine  whose  necessity  is  laid  in  the  wickedness  of  man, 
it  is  that  the  Holy  Ghost  alone  will  ever  renew  the  sinner's 
soul. 

Such  are  the  obstacles  which  prevent  men  from  feeling 
their  guilt.  These  must  be  taken  away,  and  we  proceed  to 
show  how  this  may  be  done.  The  ministers  of  religion  must 
be  qualified  not  merely  to  declaim,  but  convince ;  not  only  to 
weep  and  plead,  but  to  stand  up  against  philosophic  men  and 
convince  them  that  they  are  wrong ;  to  show  that  the  fatalism 
of  the  Stoic,  and  of  the  better  kind  of  Deists  ;  the  sensuality 
of  Epicureans,  and  of  the  mass  of  infidels;  and  the  dogmas  of 
a  theology  founded  on  ancient  and  false  philosophy,  are  as 
much  in  the  face  of  true  science  as  they  are  of  the  Bible. 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  183 

If  iii  this  pursuit  we  arc  drawn  into  the  regions  of  metaphy 
sics,  the  fault  is  not  ours  but  that  of  those  who  led  us  there. 
If  the  sinner,  like  hunted  game,  will  flee  to  dens  and  hiding- 
places,  we  must  follow  him  ;  and  he  should  be  the  last  to 
complain  that  we  preach  to  him  metaphysics.  It  must  bo 
proved  to  men  that  they  are  wrong.  The  time  has  gone  by 
when  declamation  can  be  substituted  for  argument.  Dark 
dogmas,  however  pompous,  statuary,  and  solemn,  will  not 
supply  the  place  of  evidence  in  an  age  of  light.  Men  will 
think  and  reason,  and  draw  their  own  conclusions  ;  and  this 
must  be  fully  understood  by  the  ministry.  Man  must  be 
made  to  feel  that  God's  view  of  sin  is  just;  that  wThat  he  has 
expressed  is  the  true  measure  of  human  guilt  ;  that  the  dying 
agonies  of  the  Redeemer  were  but  a  fair  expression  of  the 
guilt  of  men ;  that  God  has  a  right  to  affix  the  penalty  to 
crime ;  and  to  declare  that  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment.  Men  must  be  roused,  and  severed — however 
rudely — from  earthly  things  ;  and  hurried  onward,  and  thrown 
into  the  deep  solemnities  of  a  universe  where  the  God  of  jus 
tice  reigns;  where  every  thing  is  full  of  God;  and  where 
voices  from  earth  and  heaven  and  hell  mingle  and  fall  on  his 
ear,  and  tell  him  to  hasten  away  from  his  delusions,  and  be 
prepared  to  die.  Man  must  be  brought  to  a  willingness  to 
arrest  his  plans  of  wickedness  where  they  are ;  to  abandon  the 
unfinished  scheme;  to  stop  in  his  career  of  pleasure;  to  relin 
quish  a  plan  of  gain,  however  flattering,  and  a  scheme  of  am 
bition,  however  imposing,  and  pause,  and  turn  to  the  living 
God.  The  purpose  must  be  one  that  shall  be  executed  now. 
Like  an  honest  man,  he  who  has  been  meeting  God  with  the 
ironical  and  sarcastic  purpose  to  repent  at  some  future  time, 
must  resolve  to  do  it  uowj  and  just  as  he  is :  resolve  to 
forsake  every  sin,  and  devote  himself  to  the  serious  work  of 
repentance. 

This  is  the  work  to  be  done.     We  admit  that  if  done  it  will 


184  ESSAYS   AND   EEVIEWS. 

not  be  by  mere  human  power,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Still 
it  is  done  under  the  influence  of  a  system  of  truth  adapted  in  the 
highest  degree  to  remove  the  obstacles,  and  to  find  its  way  to 
the  soul  of  man.  That  truth,  it  is  the  business  of  the  minis 
try  to  wield.  Under  that  truth,  these  obstacles  are  to  be 
taken  away;  and  he  is  the  most  skilful  preacher  who  so  un 
derstands  the  human  heart  and  the  power  of  the  gospel,  as  to 
adapt  the  message  to  the  varying  forms  of  iniquity,  and  make 
the  sinner  tremble  and  weep  before  God  in  view  of  sin.  Our 
next  object  is  to  show  what  the  state  of  the  soul  is,  if  these 
obstacles  be  removed;  or  what  capacities  or  susceptibilities  it 
has,  on  which  the  call  to  repentance  may  be  made  to  act. 
Here  we  must  be  brief.  And  it  is  not  needful  at  great  length 
to  present  this  part  of  our  subject.  "We  remark,  then, 

1.  That  a  man  is  endowed  with  reason.  Reason  coincides 
with  the  doctrines  of  God  when  fairly  presented ;  and  when 
reason  is  convinced,  and  its  suffrage  is  secured  in  favour  of 
truth,  no  small  advance  is  made  in  the  work  of  the  gospel. 
When  a  man  is  convinced  of  what  you  say;  when  he  sees  all 
the  arguments  which  in  other  minds  have  produced  convic 
tion,  and  when  his  understanding  accords  with  yours,  the  way 
is  prepared  for  any  impression  which  the  truth  is  fitted  to 
produce.  When  you  have  convinced  the  man  of  pleasure  that 
he  will  waste  his  estate  or  health  ;  a  young  man  that  he  is  in 
danger  of  intemperance  or  ruin;  or  a  magistrate  that  the 
cause  you  plead  is  one  of  justice  or  of  law;  or  a  man  of  pro 
perty  that  you  are  poor  and  unfortunate,  and  that  your  helpless 
wife  and  children  are  perishing  with  want;  when  you  have 
convinced  a  man's  sober  judgment  that  his  country  calls  him 
to  the  field  of  blood,  you  are  prepared  to  make  any  thrilling 
appeal,  and  to  excite  all  that  is  tender  and  philanthropic  in 
his  bosom.  Thus  the  gospel  addresses  men,  and  it  expects 
that  those  who  proclaim  its  truths  shall  be  able  to  convince 
men  that  the  Bible  is  a  revelation  from  Heaven.  It  expects 


THE   SINNER    MADE    TO   FEEL   HIS    GUILT.  185 

that  they  will  go  forth  conscious  that  they  arc  called  to  preach 
a  system  which  supposes  that  men  are  rational,  and  that  tho 
system  is  one  that  will  bear  the  test  of  the  science  of  all  ages ; 
of  all  the  arts  of  criticism ;  all  the  advances  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  human  mind ;  all  enlarged  views  of  physical  researches 
and  refinement,  in  all  coming  ages  of  the  world.  The  ministry 
arc  expected,  therefore,  to  be  men  not  fitted  merely  to  declaim, 
but  to  sit  down  coolly  and  convince  men  : — to  sit  down  with 
them  at  any  department  of  investigation,  and  to  show  them 
that  this  and  that  science  leads  to  no  fair  results  that  do  not 
coincide  with  the  oracles  of  God  •  and  to  show  to  infidelity 
that  it  arrays  itself  as  much  against  the  fair  deductions  of 
science  as  against  the  Bible.  It  is  needless  to  add,  that  if  this 
be  the  case,  the  danger  is  not  that  the  ministry  will  be  too 
thoroughly  imbued  with  sound  learning;  and  that  the  kind 
of  learning  wanted,  is  the  bearing  of  the  existing  state  of  science 
on  the  evidences  and  doctrines  of  revelation. 

2.  A  second  power  of  the  mind  to  which  the  system  of 
divine  truth  adapts  itself  is  that  of  conscience.  Its  province 
is  not  to  communicate  tvuth,  but  to  coincide  with  it  and  press 
it  with  convicting  power  on  the  mind.  It  seems  almost  to  bo 
an  independent  agent,  which  God  has  fitted  up  for  the  special 
designs  of  moral  government — answering  the  purposes  of  an 
ever-present  Divinity : — using  the  language  which  God  him 
self  would  use  ;  and  performing  the  office  which  the  divinity 
would  perform,  if  he  attended  us  every  moment,  spoke  in  our 
listening  cars  in  solitude,  or  when  allured  by  the  world,  or 
when  under  the  influence  of  mighty  and  infatuating  passions. 
It  performs  to  men  the  office  which  Socrates  fabled  to  be  per 
formed  by  his  attending  genius.  There  is  no  more  striking 
proof  of  God's  power  and  wisdom,  than  in  placing  this  tre 
mendous  witness  in  any  part  of  his  moral  government ;  and  in 
making  the  guilty  mind  to  be  its  own  tormentor  and  execu 
tioner.  Its  power — its  full  power — has  not  yet  been  known. 

16* 


186  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

Intimations  of  its  terrible  inflictions  Lave  been  given  in  tins 
world,  just  enough  to  tell  us  what  it  may  be  in  hell.  We 
have  only  to  see  its  power  in  heathen  lands,  where  man  at 
bloody  altars  will  offer  his  first-born  son  and  his  dearest 
objects  of  affection  to  obtain  peace  •  we  have  only  to  follow  a 
convicted  sinner  through  the  gloom  of  many  weeks  and  years 
in  that  starless  night  when  he  is  professedly  inquiring  the 
way  to  God ;  we  have  only  to  look  upon  the  pale  face,  and 
trembling  limbs,  and  retreating  eye  of  the  murderer,  who, 
though  the  crime  was  long  since  committed,  finds  that  the 
blood  of  innocence  will  still  be  in  his  path,  and  the  stains,  to 
his  eye,  WILL  NOT  be  wiped  out,  and  who  at  last  yields  him 
self  to  justice  and  flees  to  the  grave  as  if  this  reprover  would 
not  follow  him.  there, — to  see  what  the  power  of  conscience 
may  be,  if  rightly  used,  as  a  means  of  leading  the  sinner  back 
to  God.  Its  whole  testimony  coincides  with  the  appeals  of 
the  gospel.  Never  do  we  preach  a  sermon,  however  severe 
and  cutting  its  truths,  that  does  not  find  the  concurrence  of 
conscience.  And  the  gospel  comes  to  avail  itself  of  this 
power,  and  to  excite  and  direct  it,  till  the  man  cannot  but  feel 
his  guilt  and  tremble.  It  seems  almost  as  if  in  the  constitu 
tion  of  man — before,  his  fall—there  was  laid  the  foundation 
for  his  recovery  •  and  that  God  deposited  there,  in  innocence, 
an  ever-abiding  principle,  which,  while  man  was  innocent, 
might  be  innocuous  or  consoling,  but  which  was  fitted  also  for 
terrible  inflictions  in  the  days  of  guilt ;  as  beneath  a  city  he 
may  lay  sulphur,  and  pent-up  gases,  and  nitre,  innocent  or 
useful  while  the  city  is  innocent;  but  terrible  when  some 
sinful  Lisbon  or  Calabria  shall  demand  that  God  shall  kindle 
the  elements  and  whelm  guilty  men  in  ruin. 

3.  Man  is  a  creature  of  emotions,  of  hopes,  and  fears,  and 
love;  susceptible  of  pain,  and  joy;  of  anxiety,  or  sorrow; 
seeking  peace  here,  and  capable  of  immortal  joys  in  another 
world.  The  gospel  addresses  itself  to  all  these ;  and  it  is  the 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  187 

gospel  alone  which  meets  them  fully.  The  utmost  power 
of  fear  may  be  felt  when  man  looks  at  an  eternal  hell.  The 
farthest  limit  of  hope  may  be  met  when  he  looks  at  an  eternal 
heaven.  All  the  desires  of  sympathy,  friendship,  love,  may 
be  gratified  in  the  prospect  of  an  eternal  heaven.  The  utmost 
intensity  of  love  may  be  exhausted  in  the  effort  to  love  God. 
And  all  the  mightiest  powers  of  the  soul  may  be  summoned  in 
an  effort  to  understand  the  works  and  word  of  God,  and  to  do 
his  will.  Man  is  in  ruins — but  the  ruins  are  mighty,  and  arc 
grand,  and  tell  us  what  he  was,  as  broken  arches  and  columns 
tell  us  what  once  Thebes  was.  And  ruined  as  he  is,  there  is 
no  object  in  this  world  that  satisfies  the  original  suscepti 
bilities  of  the  mind.  After  men  have  sought  the  world, 
gained  its  wealth,  run  its  round  of  pleasure,  and  climbed  its 
steeps  of  ambition,  still  they  sit  down  in  the  evening  of  life, 
and  the  big  tear  steals  down  the  cheek  when  they  reflect  that 
not  one  single  propensity  of  the  mind  has  been  met  and  grati 
fied.  Wealth  had  no  such  happiness  to  bestow  as  it  promised ; 
and  the  theatre  and  assembly-room  never  met  and  filled  up 
the  desire  of  joy;  the  toils  of  professional  life  have  not  filled 
the  measure  of  the  soul ;  the  country's  call  to  the  field  of 
liberty  and  victory  has  not  satisfied  the  desires  of  the  immortal 
mind.  And  there  sits  the  man  great  in  the  ruins  of  sin,  and 
even  of  age,  still  showing  desires  of  something  unreached  and 
untasted,  and  still  as  restless,  and  unsatisfied  as  he  was  in  all 
the  aspirings  of  youthful  ambition.  There  he  sits  wailing,  as 
it  were,  on  the  shore  of  a  boundless  and  unpassed  ocean,  for 
some  new  bark  to  bear  him  to  climes  he  has  never  trod,  and  to 
an  Elysium  he  has  not  yet  found.  How  do  the  Leavings  of 
his  bosom,  and  the  last  kindlings  of  his  eye,  and  the  last  sighs 
of  ambition,  show  that  he  has  never  found  what  was  adapted 
to  ALL  the  original  propensities  of  men.  That  is  the  gospel 
of  the  blessed  God — the  voice  of  pardon — the  hope  of  immor 
tality.  There  the  mind  reposes,  and  is  at  ease.  There  like 


188  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

the  weary  traveller  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  not  among 
strangers,  but  at  last  at  home,  it  finds  that  which  meets  his 
demands ;  nor  is  there  a  desire  of  happiness,  or  peace ;  a  sus 
ceptibility  of  hope,  of  fancy,  of  friendship,  of  love,  of  bound 
less  wishes,  that  is  not  fully  met  by  the  gospel  of  God,  and 
the  looking  forward  to  immortality.  When  man  feels  this,  he 
weeps  over  the  sins  which  so  long  shut  it  from  his  view,  and 
repents  and  turns  to  God,  He  reclines  his  head  on  his  Re 
deemer's  bosom,  and  every  desire  is  satisfied,  and  he  calmly 
waits  his  change. 

On  a  soul  thus  endowed  with  reason,  conscience,  and  the 
strongest  susceptibilities,  the  gospel  is  fitted  to  act.  To  the 
soul  thus  endowed,  it  brings  its  appeal,  that  man  may  feel  his 
guilt,  and  turn  to  God  by  repentance.  Our  last  inquiry, 
then,  is,  what  does  the  gospel  bring  adapted  to  produce  repen 
tance  in  such  a  state  of  mind.  Here  we  remark, 

1.  That  the  gospel  comes  to  men  under  the  full  benefit  of  a 
concession  to  its  demand.     The  man  knows,  sees,  admits  that 
he  ought  to  repent.     He  feels  that  it  is  right  to  weep  at  guilt, 
and  turn  from  it.     He  knows  he  ought  to  be  humbled  before 
God,  and  seek  pardon  for  his  sins.     Here  we  have  an  advan 
tage  that  is  felt  scarcely  anywhere  else  but  in  religion.     We 
may  urge  the  duty  on  sinners  as  ingenuous  men  who  have 
conceded  all  we  ask  of  them,  and  who  are  pressed  with  all  the 
considerations  drawn  from  heaven,  earth,  and  hell,  to  repent 
and  turn  to  God.    On  a  man's  own  admission  of  guilt,  we  may 
press  upon  him  a  return  by  every  thing  sacred  in  religion, 
tender  in  the  love  of  God,   and  momentous  in  the  eternal 
destiny  of  the  soul. 

2.  The  gospel  comes  with  all  the  terrors  and  the  demands 
of  law.     The  thunders  of  Sinai  were  preliminary  to  the  de 
signs  of  the    gospel.     They   denounce,    for  the   purpose   of 
arousing  men  to  seek  for  mercy.     The  law  was  a  schoolmaster 
to  lead  us  to  Christ.    It  is  designed  to  aifect  the  hearts  of  men 


THE    SINNER   MADE   TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  189 

with  a  consciousness  of  guilt,  that  they  may  be  led  to  seek  for 
pardon.  Men  are  called  upon  to  repent  by  all  the  evils  of 
violated  law;  by  all  its  solemn  and  awful  claims;  by  the 
beauty  and  order  which  obeyed  law  would  confer  on  the  uni 
verse.  That  law,  if  obeyed,  would  have  diffused  peace  and 
happiness  in  all  worlds.  That  law,  broken,  has  been  the 
source  of  all  our  woes,  and  is  now  the  great  terrifier  of  men  in 
view  of  future  calamities.  Man  may  be  made  to  feel  that  this 
law  is  right.  His  reason,  his  conscience,  his  fears  may  all  be 
roused,  and  his  eye  be  fixed  on  the  terrors  of  justice,  and  the 
pains  of  hell,  till  he  trembles,  turns  pale,  and  his  heart  sinks 
within  him,  at  the  remembrance  of  his  sins.  Yet  we  do  not 
mean  that  the  preaching  of  terror  is  the  only,  or  the  happiest 
way  of  bringing  men  to  see  their  guilt.  It  is  not  simply  to 
terrify  that  the  claims  of  law  are  urged.  It  is  that  men  may 
see  and  feel,  that  that  sin  which  has  broken  in  upon  the 
order  of  the  universe,  is  an  evil  of  amazing  magnitude ;  and 
while  the  sinner  looks  upon  the  tide  of  woes  which  is  rolling 
onward  here ;  and  the  broad,  and  deep,  and  turbid  tide  of 
guilt  and  despair,  that  is  hour  by  hour,  and  day  by  day,  and 
age  by  age,  pouring  by  a  measureless  cataract  into  eternity, 
that  the  eye  may  weep,  and  the  heart  relent.  We  do  not  be 
lieve  that  great  good  results  to  the  cause  of  religion  from  a 
very  frequent  use  of  vivid  pictures  of  future  misery ;  still  less 
that  these  should  be  used  to  round  or  point  a  period,  or  to 
supply  materials  for  an  awful  or  imposing  declamation.  God 
never  used  them  with  such  an  intention.  He  never  held  them 
up  to  view  merely  to  frighten  men.  In  his  word  they  have  a 
meaning.  They  are  full  of  significancy  to  the  entire  measure 
of  the  language ;  and  they  seem  to  be  drawn  from  his  bosom, 
and  uttered  with  a  suppressed  aud  solemn  voice,  when  the 
benevolent  God  must  speak  of  the  endless  wretchedness  of  his 
creatures.  So  they  should  be  used  by  us — with  the  deep  con 
viction  that  ice  deserve  all  that  they  convey,  and  that  in  using 


190  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

them  of  others,  we  are  expressing  the  measure  of  our  own  guilt. 
Yet  that  men  should  hear  those  truths,  and  see  that  law,  and 
be  fixed  in  contemplation  of  them,  is  indispensable,  in  order 
that  they  may  see  their  guilt.  And  we  come  to  men  with  this 
advantage — presenting  a  law  which  conscience  approves,  and 
whose  penalty  has  been  fixed  by  the  unerring  decision  of  the 
wisest  mind  in  the  universe.  When  a  man  sees  that  he  has 
injured  a  friend  or  a  benefactor,  he  will  weep.  When  a  child 
is  made  conscious  that  he  has  violated  the  law  of  a  parent,  and 
that  that  law  is  good,  he  will  weep.  When  a  felon  feels  that 
he  has  injured  his  country  •  that  he  has  aimed  a  blow  at  its 
interests ;  that,  in  violating  law,  he  has  aimed  a  stab  at  all 
which  gives  to  his  fellow-men  security  of  property,  reputation, 
or  life  ]  when  a  man  can  be  made  to  see  that,  you  have  found 
the  way  to  bring  him  to  repentance.  And,  when  to  all  this 
you  add  the  higher  laws  of  the  universe,  you  have  completed 
the  pressure  on  the  man's  conscience,  and  the  mighty  sinner 
must  bow  before  God  and  bewail  his  crimes. 

And  here  we  may  remark,  that  the  gospel  owes  much  of  its 
success  in  modern  times,  to  the  doctrine  of  the  immediate 
obligation  of  man  to  obey  that  law.  In  the  preaching  of  the 
most  successful  ministers,  and  in  the  revivals  of  religion  which 
have  characterized  this  age  and  land,  this  doctrine  has  mo-re 
prominently  than  any  other  been  kept  before  the  view.  Nor  is  it 
known  that  any  marked  success  has  attended  any  other  preach 
ing  than  that  which  is  based  on  this  doctrine.  This  we  regard 
as  the  cardinal  point  ]  the  limit  which  separates  schools  of 
divinity ;  and  draws  the  boundaries  around  the  places  where 
God  eminently  blesses  the  ministry.  Let  a  man  honestly 
and  fully  press  this  point,  and  on  other  subjects  of  practical 
preaching  he  will  not  be  likely  to  go  wrong.  It  was  this 
which  was  connected  with  the  prototype  and  grand  exemplar 
of  all  true  revivals  of  religion  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Acts 
ii.  37,  08.  And  the  reason  of  this  fact  is  easily  understood 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  191 

Leave  a  man  with  the  impression  that  it  is  not  his  duty  NOW 
to  repent  and  believe,  but  that  it  may  be  at  some  future  time, 
or  under  some  more  favourable  influence  from  heaven,  and 
you  send  a  paralysis  through  his  whole  moral  frame.  No  man 
will  feel  it,  and  no  man  will  care  about  future  duty.  No  man 
will  tremble  or  be  alarmed  unless  he  feels  that  he  is  guilty 
now,  and  now  bound  to  obey.  What  cares  the  sinner  for  that 
future?  At  that  time  he  will  attend  to  it.  Now  he  is  too 
busy,  or  too  thoughtless,  or  he  feels  that  the  time  has  not 
come,  and  he  will  concern  himself  in  the  affairs  of  his  mer 
chandise  or  farm.  Wo  to  the  ministry  which,  by  indolence, 
or  false  doctrine,  or  the  fear  of  man,  makes  an  impression  like 
this  !  That  cold,  abstract,  and  formal  doctrine,  which  directs 
men  only  to  the  future ;  that  miserable  perversion  of  the  doc 
trine  of  the>  Spirit's  influence  which  directs  the  eye  onward 
and  permits  him  to  wait;  diffuses  the  chills  of  Greenland  over 
the  soul,  and  the  long  death  of  the  tomb  over  a  congregation. 
Glad  would  be  any  assassin  or  murderer ;  glad  would  be  any 
drunkard  or  gambler  who  may  now  be  lashed  and  scourged  by 
the  stings  of  remorse,  to  find  such  a  preacher,  who  would  tell 
him  not  to  feel  or  be  disturbed  now,  but  to  wait  God's  time  in 
this  matter.  A  more  consoling  minister  of  peace  you  could 
not  send  into  any  prison,  or  den  of  wickedness ;  into  any  band 
of  highwaymen,  or  pirates,  or  into  a  slave-ship,  than  would  be 
these.  But,  oh  !  let  not  the  Christian  ministry  be  charged 
with  folly  and  guilt  like  this.  On  a  sinner's  soul  there  is 
NOW  pressing  all  the  elements  of  obligation  that  can  sink  it 
down  in  any  future  scenes.  Duty  relates  not  to  the  future. 
It  presses  NOW  ;  and  that  amazing  pressure  the  sinner  must 
be  made  to  feel,  or  must  jeopard  the  eternal  interests  of 
his  soul. 

3.  We  approach  men  with  all  the  proofs  of  the  truth  of 
revelation  ;  and  the  end  of  those  proofs  is  to  teach  men  to  feel 
their  guilt.  The  argument  from  miracles  and  prophecy  is  not 


192  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

a  speculative  inquiry,  like  the  cold  and  formal  steps  of  mathe 
matical  science,  or  the  researches  of  philosophy.  Each  argu 
ment  is  a  part  of  the  vast  array  of  proof,  to  show  that  the 
declarations  which  affirm  the  lost  condition  of  men  are  con 
firmed  by  demonstration.  It  is  an  array  of  evidence  to  prove 
that  the  account  given  of  their  guilt  is  really  the  judgment 
of  Almighty  God ;  that  the  declaration  that  men  hate  God  is 
one  that  has  been  breathed  from  his  lips,  and  has  come  from 
his  profound  view  of  all  human  hearts ;  that  such  was  his  view 
of  their  guilt  that  there  was  no  Kay  of  expressing  it  but  by 
the  very  scenes  which  the  infinite  love  of  Christ,  and  the 
retributions  of  eternity  laid  open.  Language  could  not  do  it. 
Human  speech  faltered ;  and  the  poetic  fancy  of  the  singers 
of  Israel,  the  dark  and  awful  flights  of  prophetic  description, 
and  the  eloquent  tongue  of  apostles  could  not  do  it.  There 
was  a  mode.  God's  infinite  Son  could  become  incarnate.  And 
it  was  by  giving  a  living  demonstration  in  the  groans  of  G  eth- 
semane,  and  when  the  dead  were  rising  in  that  ill-fated  city 
where  the  Saviour  died,  that  he  could  tell  the  sinner  what  his 
sins  deserved ;  and  point  him  to  those  scenes,  and  say,  in  that 
garden  and  on  that  cross  you  may  see  what  your  sins  de 
served.  There  was  one  more  mode.  It  was  possible  that  men 
should  suffer  forever — and  the  infinite  God  has  told  us  that 
such  are  his  views  of  human  guilt,  that  nothing  but  that  will 
be  a  fair  expression  of  that  evil  to  other  worlds.  Now  every 
time  we  press  the  evidences  of  religion  it  is  with  reference  to 
just  this  result.  And  this  was  the  use  the  apostles  made  of 
it  •  and  this  is  the  way  in  which  they  convinced  men  of  their 
guilt.  They  urged  the  proofs  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
Saviour ;  and,  on  the  ground  of  that,  they  pressed  the  guilt 
of  man  who  had  crucified  him.  And  the  result  was  that  thou 
sands  of  his  murderers  trembled,  and  asked  with  deep  solici 
tude  what  they  should  do. 

4,   We  come  to  men  with  all  the  evidence  drawn  from  the 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    PEEL   HIS    GUILT. 

history  of  the  world,  that  they  are  gui-lty,  and  that  the  guilty 
must  suffer.  All  this  analogy  belongs  properly  to  the  pro 
vince  of  religion.  God  has  left  his  views  of  sin  in  no  mea 
sured  or  doubtful  form  in  the  history  of  devils  and  of  man. 
The  sinner  himself  is  ruined,  and  he  feels  it  and  knows  it. 
His  alarms  of  conscience;  his  humbling  anticipations;  his 
calamities,  his  sickness,  and  bereavements;  his  wasting 
frame,  and  his  approaching  death, — all  admonish  him  of  it. 
Man  is  a  sinner,  and  the  earth,  arched  with  the  graves  of  the 
dead ;  and  the  plague,  the  pestilence,  and  war,  prove  it. 
Man  is  a  sinner,  and  each  ruined  capital,  each  desolated  city, 
each  town  reeling  beneath  the  upheaving  earth,  or  falling  by 
its  own  crimes,  proves  it.  The  broken  columns  and  mighty 
fragments  of  arches  in  ancient  towns,  are  monuments  to  pre 
serve  the  memory  of  the  guilt  which  caused  their  ruin,  and 
are  emblematic  of  the  broken  and  prostrate  character  of  man. 
To  each  vice  God  has  affixed  its  own  marks  of  crime.  The 
drunkard  proclaims  everywhere  in  his  face  and  frame,  that 
God  thinks  him  to  be  an  evil  man,  and  hates  his  crime.  And 
so  each  gambler,  pirate,  murderer,  becomes  everywhere  the 
herald  of  his  own  sin.  The  entire  history  of  man  lies  before 
the  ministry,  as  constituting  materials  of  the  proof  of  guilt. 
In  every  age,  every  nation,  God  has  written  with  his  own 
finger  his  view  of  the  guilt  of  men ;  he  has  uttered  it  in  every 
language ;  and  we  come  to  men  with  the  demonstration  drawn 
from  the  experience  of  six  thousand  years,  to  press  this  mighty 
argument  on  their  minds,  to  show  that  God  esteems  them  to 
be  sinners,  and  that  except  they  repent,  they  shall  all  likewise 
perish. 

5.  The  gospel,  in  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ, 
has  exhausted  all  the  appeals  which  can  be  made  to  men's 
sensibilities  to  make  them  feel  their  guilt.  It  comes  in  at  the 
end  of  law ;  and  when  all  the  other  topics  of  persuasion  have 
been  found  to  be  ineffectual.  For  four  thousand  years,  in  pagan 
VOL.  J  17 


194  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

and  Jewish  lands,  law  had  uttered  its  denunciations  almost  in 
vain.  God  had  exhausted  the  forms  of  those  appeals  in  the 
terrors  of  Sinai;  the  inflictions  of  a  guilty  conscience  ;  and  the 
threatenings  of  hell.  Men  were  guilty — they  felt  it — knew  it. 
They  mocked  him  with  vain  oblations;  sprinkled  impure 
altars  with  the  blood  of  innocence  offered  by  unholy  hands, 
arid  then  returned  to  their  pollution.  It  became  needful  that 
some  other  plan  should  be  tried  to  see  whether  men  could  be 
made  so  effectually  to  perceive  their  guilt,  and  ill-desert,  as  to 
hate  it,  and  abandon  it.  That  plan  is  what  was  expressed  in 
the  cross  of  Christ.  The  essence  of  that  plan  consists  in 
man's  being  made  to  see  an  innocent  Being  suffering  un 
utterable  agonies  in  his  stead,  and  as  the  proper  expression  of 
his  crime. 

Now  the  value  of  that  plan  may  be  seen  by  supposing,  that 
human  law  had  some  such  device.  One  thing  strikes  every 
man  on  going  into  a  court  of  justice.  It  is  that  the  criminal, 
who  knows  his  guilt,  and  who  may  expect  to  die,  is  so  un 
moved  by  the  scene,  and  the  danger ;  and  especially  that  he 
seems  to  have  so  little  sense  of  the  evil  of  the  crime  for  which 
he  is  to  die.  One  reason  is,  that  there  is  little  in  the  law  that 
will  make  him  feel ;  and  less  in  the  proceedings.  His  mind 
is  taken  off  from  his  guilt,  by  the  technicalities  of  the  law ; 
by  the  contests  of  advocates;  by  the  discrepancies  of  wit 
nesses  ;  often  by  the  coldness  and  want  of  feeling  in  the  judge, 
the  jury,  and  hardened  spectators.  But  suppose  there  could 
be  placed  in  full  view,  where  the  man  alone  could  see  it,  some 
innocent  being  voluntarily  suffering  what  his  crime  deserved 
— illustrating  on  the  rack,  or  amid  flames-  -just  what  he 
ought  to  suffer,  and  bearing  this  so  patiently,  so  mildly,  as  he 
sank  into  the  arms  of  death,  as  to  be  the  highest  expression 
of  pure  friendship.  Suppose  this  was  the  brother,  or  the 
father  of  the  man  he  had  slain,  and  that  the  dying  man  should 
(ell  him  that  he  bore  this  to  show  the  importance  of  main 


THE    SINNER   MADE   TO    FEEL   HIS    GUILT.          195 

taining  violated  law,  and  that  ~but  for  these  sufferings  the 
guilty  wretch  could  not  be  saved  from  death,  and  how  much 
more  affecting  would  be  this,  than  the  mere  dryness  of  statutes, 
and  the  pleadings  of  counsel,  and  the  charge  of  the  judge.  You 
may  find  here,  perhaps,  a  slight  illustration  of  the  principle  on 
which  the  gospel  acts.  Law  had  tried  its  power  in  vain,  and 
the  only  effectual  scheme  is  to  place  before  the  sinner  the 
innocent  Lamb  of  God,  bleeding  for  his  sins.  Thus  it  was 
said  of  him,  "  He  shall  be  set  for  the  foil  and  rising  again  of 
many  in  Israel,  and  for  a  sign  to  be  spoken  against,  that 
thereby  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  be  revealed."  And 
thus  also  it  was  prophesied :  "  They  shall  look  upon  him 
whom  they  have  pierced,  and  shall  mourn."  Hence  the 
apostles  met  with  such  success ;  whose  preaching  was  a  little 
more  than  a  simple  statement  of  the  truth  that  Jesus  died, 
and  rose.  And,  however  it  is  to  be  accounted  for,  it  is  this 
which  has  in  all  ages  been  attended  with  the  convictions  of 
guilt  among  men.  Gosner,  the  celebrated  Bavarian  Catholic 
priest,  at  present  a  Protestant  clergyman  in  Berlin,  who  has 
probably  been  the  means  of  the  immediate  conversion  of  more 
souls  than  any  man  living,  is  said  seldom  to  vary  in  his  manner 
of  preaching.  The  love  of  Christ  is  almost  his  constant  theme, 
and  his  preaching  is  almost  a  constant  pouring  out  of  the  warm 
effusions  of  the  heart  in  the  love  of  God,  the  preciousness  of 
the  Saviour,  and  the  desirableness  of  heaven.*  The  affecting 
experience  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  in  Greenland  is  well 
known.  For  many  years  they  endeavoured  to  teach  the  be 
nighted  pagans  the  existence  and  attributes  of  God,  and  the 
doctrines  of  retribution.  Never  was  work  more  unsuccessful 
than  this.  The  heart  of  the  Greenlander,  cold  as  his  own 
snows,  was  unmoved,  and  the  missionaries  appeared  to  toil  in 
vain.  On  one  occasion  it  happened  that  one  of  them  read  in 

Biblical  Repository,  vol.  iii.  pp.  535,  536. 


196  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

the  hearing  of  a  savage,  the  account  of  the  Saviour's  sufferings 
in  the  garden  and  on  the  cross.  u  How  is  this  ?"  said  one  of 
the  savages.  "  Tell  me  it  once  more,  for  I  would  be  saved"—- 
and  laid  his  hand  on  his  mouth  and  wept.  Here  was  learned, 
almost  by  accident,  the  great  secret  of  their  success  in  the 
world.  Here  was  illustrated  anew  the  principle  of  the  gospel, 
adapted  to  all  ages  and  people,  that  the  account  of  a  suffering 
liedeemer  is  to  be  the  grand  means  of  teaching  sinners  every 
where  their  guilt  j  and  of  drawing  forth  tears  of  repentance 
from  eyes  that,  but  for  this,  would  never  weep.  Our  own  ex 
perience  in  the  ministry  has  been  short.  But  we  may,  perhaps, 
be  allowed  to  say,  that  the  only  revival  of  religion  in  which 
we,  as  a  pastor,  have  been  permitted  to  engage,  began  in  the 
progress  of  a  series  of  sermons  on  the  work  of  Christ ;  and 
that  the  effect  of  that  truth  was  visible  through  the  series,  till 
almost  the  entire  congregation  bowed  at  once  before  the  cross, 
and  a  deep  and  awful  solemnity  pervaded  all  ranks  in  the 
community.  Nor  do  we  doubt  that  this  is  the  way  in  which 
men  must  be  taught  to  feel  their  guilt,  as  the  gospel  spreads 
over  the  world.  If  you  wish  to  make  men  feel  the  evil  of  sin, 
go  and  tell  them  that  its  magnitude  is  so  great  that  none  but 
God's  own  Son  could  undertake  the  task  of  bearing  the  bur 
den  of  the  world's  atonement.  Go  and  remember  that  angelic 
might  was  not  equal  to  this ;  that  all  on  high  but  God  was 
incapable  to  breast  the  tide  of  human  sins;  that  so  great  were 
the  plans  of  gigantic  and  all-spreading  evil,  that  it  was  needful 
that  God  should  become  incarnate,  and  in  our  nature  meet  the 
evils  of  sin,  aimed  at  his  head  and  his  heart.  Go  and  look  on 
embodied  holiness — the  august  blending  of  all  virtues  in  the 
person  of  the  Son  of  God,  moving  a  present  deity  through  the 
scenes  of  earth ;  and  himself  the  only  innocent  being  that  had 
blessed  our  world  with  his  presence.  Then  go  and  see  inno 
cence  itself  in  torture,  and  ask,  why  was  this  ?  Is  this  the 
fair  expression  of  the  desert  of  our  sin  ?  Did  God  judge 


THE    SINNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.          197 
aright  when  he  deemed  that  woes  like  these  should  tell  Iww 

O 

much  man  ought  to  endure  ?  If  so,  then  bitter  sorrows  should 
come  over  our  souls  at  the  remembrance  of  all  these  sufferings, 
and  of  the  sins  that  caused  the  death  of  this  stranger-friend 
that  came  to  seek  out  the  guilty,  and  to  die. 

6.  One  other  mode  consists  in  bringing  before  a  man,  so 
that  he  must  sec  it,  the  tremendous  scenes  of  the  judgment. 
We  must  diminish  the  apparent  journey  which  he  has  to  tread, 
and  place  him  amid  the  scenes  of  the  judgment  day.  This  help 
religion  furnishes  to  bring  guilty  men  to  repentance.  It  as 
sures  us  that  we  shall  be  there ;  and  that  that  tribunal  is  a 
place  where  the  sinner  must  feel.  You  perhaps  have  marked 
in  a  court  of  justice  some  guilty  man,  who,  at  the  beginning 
of  his  trial,  assumed  the  Stoic,  and  was  bold,  and,  apparently, 
unconcerned.  Yet  you  have  marked  the  change  in  the  man 
when  the  witnesses  have  been  called;  when  one  circumstance 
after  another  has  pointed  at  his  guilt ;  when  an  argument  to 
condemn  him  might  already  have  been  made  out.  And  you 
may  have  marked  the  cloud  on  his  brow,  and  the  paleness  on 
his  cheek,  when  he  sees  some  witness  advance  deliberately, 
who,  he  knows,  is  acquainted  with  his  guilt,  who  he  hoped  or 
believed  would  not  have  been  there,  and  who  now  solemnly 
swears  to  declare  the  whole  truth.  His  last  refuge  has  failed, 
and  he  must  die.  So  the  sinner  must  be  made  to  draw  near 
to  the  judgment.  His  delusions  and  evasions  must  be  swept 
away.  He  must  be  borne  onward,  and  must  look  at  those 
scenes.  Time,  and  friends,  and  pleasures,  and  honours,  must 
be  made  to  leave  him, — and  he  must  be  shut  up  and  encom 
passed  in  the  still,  solemn  scenes,  where  conscience  shall  no 
more  be  silent ;  where  the  eye  of  the  all-seeing  Judge  shall  be 
witness  enough  of  guilt  ]  and  where  he  must  stand  riveted  by 
that  eye,  quailing  beneath  its  piercings,  horror-stricken  at  an 
opening  hell ;  and  amid  that  vast  multitude,  trembling  by 
himself — surrounded  by  numberless  millions,  yet  weeping 


198  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

apart.  All  this  power  the  gospel  wields;  and,  with  this  it 
intends  to  jircss  on  the  soul  till  the  haughty  man  is  bowed 
down  ;  and  the  hardened  man  melts  into  tear?,  and  the  profli 
gate  man  trembles  in  view  of  judgment  and  of  hell. 

The  gospel  is,  therefore,  a  simple  device,,  though  mighty, 
adapted  to  the  state  of  man.  It  was  originated  by  him  who 
knew  what  was  in  man ;  and  who  knew  the  way  to  the  human 
heart.  It  is  founded  on  the  manifest  guilt  of  men  ;  it  meets 
the  susceptibilities  of  men ;  enlists  on  its  side  all  that  is  tender 
and  thrilling,  and  awful  in  the  human  bosom ;  and  has  devised 
a  plan  calling  in  from  three  worlds,  all  that  can  move,  excite, 
win,  or  awe.  Could  this  plan  have  been  invented  by  men  t 
Is  it  like  any  thing  that  men  ever  have  invented  ? 

The  work  of  the  ministry  is  one  of  great  difficulty,  and 
demanding  great  skill.  It  is  no  light  work  to  wield  that  which 
is  designed  to  effect  great  changes  in  the  human  bosom,  and 
to  revolutionize  the  world.  It  is  no  unimportant  task  to  be 
engaged  in  applying  that  which  has  called  forth  all  the  wisdom 
of  God,  and  which  must  affect  forever  the  destinies  of  men. 
But  this  is  not  the  only  difficulty.  It  is  a  work  of  laying  open 
human  guilt;  bringing  out  secret  offences ;  revealing  crime; 
attempting  to  excite  the  energies  of  conscience ;  to  inflict  the 
pangs  of  remorse  on  men ;  and  to  bring  them  to  the  posture 
of  grief,  and  the  bitterness  of  penitence.  It  is  not  to  be  won 
dered  at  if  we  are  regarded  as  ministers  of  gloom,  and  "  sus 
pected  of  taking  a  pleasure  in  attempting  to  overwhelm  the 
soul  in  dark  and  melancholy  forebodings."  Nor  are  we  to  be 
disappointed  if  one  man  thinks  we  are  close,  or  personal,  or 
severe;  or  another  would  like  smoother  prophesyings ;  and 
another  be  uneasy  that  his  repose  is  disturbed ;  and  another 
attempt  to  suppress  his  ill-concealed  feelings;  and  another 
find  quietude  in  some  place  where  the  mighty  and  pungent 
doctrines  of  the  cross  are  concealed,  or  men  are  taught  not  to 
be  afraid  of  the  declaration  that  God  is  a  consuming  fire. 


THE    SIXNER    MADE    TO    FEEL    HIS    GUILT.  109 

We  see  here  what  makes  death  so  terrible  to  a  sinner.  The 
mask  is  then  oft*.  The  world  recedes  and  appears  as  it  is.  Its 
delusions  have  vanished.  The  mist  is  gone,  and  the  naked 
soul,  the  conscience,  the  feelings,  the  apprehensions,  arc  laid 
bare  to  the  insufferable  blaze  of  truth,  and  the  piercings  of  the 
eye  of  God.  The  tossed  sinner  cannot  help  himself,  then. 
There  is  no  delusion;  no  new  mist;  no  cavern  there;  no  far 
projecting  rock ;  no  way  to  silence  the  voice,  or  turn  away  the 
eye  of  God.  There  it  is  everywhere.  The  sinner  dying,  may 
roll  and  toss,  but  the  eye  of  God  is  there — everywhere — just 
as  bright,  as  keen,  as  riving — as  justice  and  indignation  can 
make  it — and  as  it  will  be  in  an  eternal  hell.  And  there,  too, 
is  a  finger  mysteriously  moving  on  the  wall, — nor  can  he  turn 
from  that, — and  writing  his  damnation.  The  man  is  afraid  to 
live  and  afraid  to  die.  Verily  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  die  a 
sinner,  and  to  lie  on  such  a  death-bed  as  that.  God  grant 
that  no  such  struggling  spirit  of  any  of  our  readers  may  go  to 
the  judgment-seat  of  the  eternal  God ! 


200  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS, 

V. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1834.] 

Episcopacy  tested  l>y  Scripture.  By  the  Right  Reverend 
HENRY  U.  ONDERDONK,  D.D.,  Assistant  Bishop  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania.  New  York :  published  by  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Tract  Society,  pp.  46. 

THE  history  of  this  tract  is  this.  It  was  first  published  as 
an  essay,  in  the  "  Protestant  Episcopalian,"  for  November 
and  December,  1830.  It  was  then  issued  in  a  pamphlet  form, 
without  the  name  of  the  author.  It  was  next  requested  for 
publication  by  the  "Trustees  of  the  New  York  Protestant 
Episcopal  Press/'  and,  after  being  amended  by  the  author, 
with  an  addition  of  several  notes,  it  was  printed  in  the  form 
of  a  tract,  and  as  such  has  had  an  extensive  circulation. 

The  tract  is  one  which  has  strong  claims  on  the  attention 
of  those  who  are  not  Episcopalians.  The  name  and  standing 
of  the  author  will  give  it  extensive  publicity.  The  fact  that  it 
comes  from  the  "  Press'7  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  this  coun 
try  •  that  it  is  issued  as  one  of  their  standing  publications,  and 
that  it  will,  therefore,  be  circulated  with  all  the  zeal  which 
usually  characterizes  associations  organized  for  defending  the 
exclusive  views  of  any  religious  body ;  and,  most  of  all,  the 
character  of  the  tract  itself,  and  the  ground  assumed  by  it, 
give  it  a  title  to  our  attention,  which  can  be  claimed  by  hardly 
any  single  tract  of  the  kind  ever  published  in  our  country. 
Our  views  of  it  may  be  expressed  in  one  word.  It  is  the  best 
written,  the  most  manly,  elaborate,  judicious,  and  candid  dis 
cussion,  in  the  form  of  a  tract,  which  we  have  seen  on  this 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  201 

subject.  Our  Episcopalian  friends  regard  it  as  unanswerable. 
They  Lave  provided  amply  for  its  circulation,  and  rely  on  its 
making  converts  wherever  it  is  perused;  and,  in  a  tone  which 
cannot  be  misunderstood,  they  are  exulting  in  the  fact  that,  to 
this  day,  it  lias  been  left  entirely  unnoticed  by  the  opponents 
of  prelacy.*  And  we  wonder,  too,  that  it  has  not  been  noticed. 
There  are  men  among  us  who  seem  to  consider  the  external 
defence  of  the  church  as  intrusted  to  their  peculiar  care ;  who 
delight  to  be  seen  with  the  accoutrements  of  the  ecclesiastical 
military  order,  patrolling  the  walls  of  Zion  j  who  parade  with 
much  self-complacency,  as  sentinels  in  front  of  the  temple 
of  God ;  who  are  quick  to  detect  the  movements  of  external 
enemies ;  and  who  are  admirably  adapted  to  this  species  of 
warfare.  They  seem  to  have  little  heart  for  the  interior  ope 
rations  of  the  church,  and  seldom  notice  them,  except  to 
suggest  doubts  of  the  expediency  of  some  new  measure  pro 
posed,  or  to  promote  discord  and  strife,  by  laying  down  rules 
for  the  conduct  of  those  who  are  labouring  in  the  direct  work 
of  saving  souls.  Much  do  we  marvel  that  these  men  have 
suffered  this  tract  to  lie  so  long  unnoticed. 

We  have  never  regarded  the  Episcopal  controversy  with 
any  very  special  interest.  Our  feelings  lead  us  to  dwell  on 
subjects  more  directly  connected  with  the  salvation  of  the 
soul.  We  have  no  taste  for  the  species  of  warfare  which  is 
often  waged  in  guarding  the  outposts  of  religion.  Christianity, 
we  have  supposed,  is  designed  to  act  directly  on  the  hearts  of 
men ;  and  we  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  very  little  moment  in 
what  particular  church  the  spirit  is  prepared  for  its  eternal 
rest,  provided  the  great  object  be  accomplished  of  bringing  it 
fairly  under  the  influence  of  the  gospel. 


*  "Has  the  tract  'Episcopacy  tested  by  Scripture,'  been  answered? 
This,  \ve  believe,  is  neither  the  first  time  of  asking,  nor  the  second,  nor  the 
third." — Protestant  Episcopalian. 


202  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

But,  we  propose,  for  the  reasons  already  suggested,  to  exa 
mine  the  arguments  of  this  tract.  We  do  it  with  the  highest 
respect  for  the  author;  with  a  full  conviction  that  he  has 
done  ample  justice  to  his  cause ;  that  he  has  urged  on  his  side 
of  the  question  all  that  can  be  advanced ;  and  we  enter  on  the 
task  with  sincere  pleasure  at  meeting  an  argument  conducted 
with  entire  candour,  without  misrepresentation,  and  with  a 
manifest  love  of  truth.  Our  wish  is  to  reciprocate  this  can 
dour;  and  our  highest  desire  is  to  imitate  the  chastened 
spirit,  the  sober  argumentation,  and  the  Christian  temper 
evinced  in  this  tract.  It  is  firm  in  its  principles,  but  not  illi 
beral  ;  decided  in  its  views,  but  net  censorious  j  settled  in  its 
aims,  but  not  resorting  to  sophism,  or  ridicule,  to  carry  its 
points.  There  is,  evidently,  in  the  author's  mind  too  clear  a 
conviction  of  the  truth  of  what  he  advances,  to  justify  a  resort 
to  the  mere  art  of  the  logician ;  too  manifest  a  love  of  the 
3ause  in  which  he  is  engaged,  to  expose  himself  to  the  retort 
•which  might  arise  from  lofty  declamation,  or  the  expression 
of  angry  passions  towards  his  opponents. 

One  object  which  we  have  in  view,  in  noticing  this  tract,  is 
to  express  our  gratification  that  the  controversy  is,  at  last,  put 
where  it  should  have  been  at  first — on  an  appeal  to  the  Bible 
alone.  Never  have  we  been  more  digusted  than  at  the  mode 
in  which  the  Episcopal  controversy  has  usually  been  con 
ducted.  By  common  consent,  almost,  the  writers,  on  both 
sides,  have  turned  from  the  New  Testament,  where  the  contro 
versy  might  have  been  brought  to  a  speedy  issue,  to  listen  to 
the  decisions  of  the  Fathers;  and,  as  might  have  been  ex 
pected,  have 

"Found  no  end,  in  wandering  mazes  lost." 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  friends  of  prelacy  to  do  so ;  and  it  was 
the  folly  of  their  opponents  to  suffer  them  to  choose  the  field 
of  debate,  and  to  weary  themselves  in  an  effort  to  fix  the 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  203 

meaning,  to  secure  the  consistency,  and  obtain  the  suffrages 
of  the  Fathers.  Full  well  was  it  known,  we  believe,  by  the 
friends  of  Episcopacy  in  other  times,  that  the  New  Testament 
could  furnish  a  most  slender  support  for  their  claims.  In  the 
times  of  the  Papacy,  it  had  always  been  defended  by  an  appeal 
to  the  Fathers.  The  system  had  risen,  sustained,  not  even 
professedly,  by  the  authority  of  the  Bible,  but  by  the  tradi 
tions  of  the  ciders.  The  ranks  and  orders  of  the  papal  priest 
hood  could  be  defended  only  by  the  authority  of  a  church 
which  claimed  infallibility,  and  which  might  dispense,  there 
fore,  with  the  New  Testament.  The  Reformers  came  forth  from 
the  bosom  of  the  Papacy  with  much  of  this  feeling.  They 
approached  this  subject  with  high  reverence  for  the  opinions 
of  past  times ;  with  a  deference  for  the  Fathers,  nourished  by 
all  the  forms  of  their  education,  by  all  existing  institutions,  and 
by  the  reluctance  of  the  human  mind  to  break  away  from  the 
established  customs  of  ages.  On  the  one  hand,  the  advocates 
of  Episcopacy  found  their  proofs  in  the  common  law  of  the 
church,  the  institutions  which  had  existed  "  time  whereof  the 
memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary;"  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  opponents  of  prelacy  were  equally  anxious  to 
show  that  tlicy  had  not  departed  from  the  customs  of  the 
fathers,  and  that  the  defence  of  their  institutions  might  be 
found  in  times  far  remote,  and  in  records  which  received  the 
veneration,  and  commanded  the  confidence,  of  the  Christian 
world.  Into  this  abyss  both  parties  plunged.  In  this  im 
mense  chaos  of  opinions  and  interpretations;  into  these  mov 
ing,  disorganized,  jostling  elements,  where,  as  in  the  first 
chaos,  light  struggled  with  darkness  and  confusion  reigned, 
they  threw  themselves,  to  endeavour  severally  to  find  the  sup 
port  of  their  opinions.  "  Whatsoever  time,  or  the  heedless 
hand  of  blind  chance,"  says  Milton,  "  hath  drawn  down  from 
of  old  to  this  present,  in  her  huge  drag-net,  whether  fish  or 
seaweed,  shells  or  shrubs,  unpicked,  unchosen,  those  are  the 


204  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

Fathers."  With  those  who,  according  to  Mosheim,*  deemed 
it  not  only  lawful,  but  commendable,  to  deceive  and  lie  for 
the  sake  of  truth  and  piety,  it  would  be  singular  if  any  point 
could  be  settled  that  involved  controversy.  With  men  who 
held  to  every  strange  and  ridiculous  opinion;  to  every  vagary 
that  the  human  mind  can  conceive  ;f  it  would  be  remarkable 
if  both  sides  in  this  controversy  did  not  find  enough  that  had 
the  appearance  of  demonstration,  to  perplex  and  embarrass  an 
opponent  ad  libitum.  In  examining  the  controversy,  as  it 
was  conducted  in  former  times,  we  have  been  often  amused, 
and  edified,  at  the  perfect  complacency  with  which  a  passage 
from  one  of  the  Fathers  is  adduced  in  defence  of  either  side 
of  the  question,  and  the  perfect  ease  with  which,  by  a  new 
translation,  or  by  introducing  a  few  words  of  the  context,  or 
more  frequently  by  an  appeal  to  some  other  part  of  the  same 
author,  not  studious  himself  of  consistency,  and  probably 
having  no  settled  principles,  the  passage  is  shown  to  mean 
just  the  contrary;  and  then,  again,  a  new  version,  or  yet 
another  quotation,  shall  give  it  a  new  aspect,  and  restore  it  to 
its  former  honours.  J  Thus  the  Fathers  became  a  mere  foot 
ball  between  the  contending  parties  ;  and  thus  in  this  contro 
versy  the  weary  searcher  for  truth  finds  no  solid  ground. 
Eminently,  here,  ahe  which  is  first  in  his  cause  seemeth  just; 
but  his  neighbour  cometh  and  searcheth  him/7  Prov.  xviii.  17. 
To  this  wearisome  and  unsatisfactory  toil  he  is  doomed  who 
will  read  all  the  older  controversies  on  Episcopacy.  There  he, 

"  O'er  bog  or  steep,  through  strait,  rough,  dense  or  rare, 
With  head,  hands,  wings,  or  feet,  pursues  his  way, 
And  swims,  or  sinks,  or  wades,  or  creeps  or  flies." 

Were  we  to  adduce  the  most  striking  instance  of  the  plastic 


*  Murdock's  Moshcim,  vol.  i.  p.  159. 

•f  See  Tillemont's  Ecclesiastical  History,  passim. 

J  See  the  Letters  of  Dr.  Miller,  and  Dr.  Bowclen,  on  Episcopacy,  jiassim. 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  205 

nature  of  this  kind  of  proof,  we  should  refer  to  the  epistles 
of  Ignatius.  To  our  eyes  they  seem  to  be  a  plain,  straight 
forward  account  of  the  existence  of  Presbyterianism  in  his 
time.  They  are  substantially  such  a  description  as  a  man 
would  give,  writing  in  the  inflated  and  exaggerated  manner  in 
which  the  Orientals  wrote,  of  Presbyterianism  as  it  exists  in 
the  United  States.  Yet  it  is  well  known  that,  with  the  utmost 
pertinacity  those  letters  have  been  adduced  as  proving  the 
doctrine  of  Episcopacy.  And  so  confident  have  been  the  as 
sertions  on  the  subject,  that  not  a  few  non-Episcopalians  have 
given  them  up  as  unmanageable,  and  have  stoutly  contended, 
what  may  be  very  true,  that  no  inconsiderable  part  of  them 
are  forgeries. 

Any  man  can  see  what  a  hopeless  task  is  before  him,  if  he 
endeavours  to  settle  this  controversy  by  the  authority  of  the 
Fathers.  The  waste  of  time,  and  talent,  and  learning,  on  this 
subject,  is  fitted  deeply  to  humble  the  heart.  And  even  yet 
the  passion  has  not  ceased.  Even  now,  men  high  in  office 
and  in  rank,  leave  the  New  Testament  and  appeal  to  the 
Fathers.  Episcopacy  is  discarded,  not  principally  because 
the  New  Testament  is  a  stranger  to  it,  but  because  Jerome 
was  not  a  prelatist;  it  is  rejected,  not  because  it  cannot  be 
made  out  from  the  Bible,  but  because  it  is  a  matter  of  debate, 
whether  the  Fathers  teach  it  or  not. 

From  this  unprofitable  and  endless  litigation,  we  are  glad 
to  turn  to  the  true  merits  of  the  case.  We  rejoice  sincerely 
that  one  man  can  be  found  who  is  willing  to  bring  to  this 
subject  the  great  principle  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  that 
all  religious  opinions  are  to  be  tested  by  the  Scriptures.  And 
we  especially  rejoice  to  see  this  principle  so  decisively  ad 
vanced  by  a  man  of  the  talents  and  official  rank  of  Dr.  Onder- 
donk ;  and  that  it  is  so  prominently  avowed  by  sending  forth 
from  the  "  Protestant  Episcopal  Press,"  a  tract  in  its  defence. 
It  indicates  a  healthy  state  of  things  in  the  Episcopal  Church 

VOL.  I.  13 


206  ESSAYS   AND    KEVIEWS. 

in  this  country.  It  will  save  endless  disputes  about  words, 
and  much  useless  toil  in  endeavouring  to  give  consistency  and 
sense  to  the  Fathers.  This  mode  of  reasoning,  too,  will  soon 
decide  the  controversy.  Long  have  we  wished  to  see  this 
matter  brought  to  so  obvious  and  so  just  an  issue;  and  long- 
have  we  expected  that  when  this  should  be  the  case,  the 
matter  would  be  soon  decided.  Hereafter  let  it  be  held  up  as 
a  great  principle,  from  which,  neither  in  spirit  nor  in  form. 
we  are  ever  to  depart,  that  if  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Episco 
pacy  are  not  found  in  the  Scriptures,  they  are  to  be  honestly 
abandoned,  or  held,  as  Cranmer  held  them,  as  matters  of  mere 
expediency.  Let  this  truth  go  forth,  never  to  be  recalled; 
and  let  every  man  who  attempts  to  defend  the  claims  of 
bishops,  appeal  to  the  Bible  alone.  On  this  appeal,  with 
confidence,  we  rest  the  issue  of  this  case. 

The  great  principle  on  which  the  argument  in  this  tract  is 
conducted,  is  indicated  in  its  title;  it  is  further  stated  at 
length  in  the  tract  itself.  Thus,  in  the  opening  sentence, 
"  The  claim  of  Episcopacy  to  be  of  divine  institution,  and, 
therefore,  obligatory  on  the  church,  rests  fundamentally  on  the 
one  question, — "  Has  it  the  authority  of  Scripture  ?  If  it  has 
not,  it  is  not  necessarily  binding/'  Again,  on  the  same  page, 
"  No  argument  is  worth  taking  into  the  account,  that  has  not 
a  palpable  bearing  on  the  clear  and  naked  topic — the  scrip 
tural  evidence  of  Episcopacy/'  Having  stated  this  principle, 
the  writer  proceeds  to  remark,  that  "  the  argument  is  ob 
structed  with  many  extraneous  and  irrelevant  difficulties, 
which,  instead  of  aiding  the  mind  in  reaching  the  truth  on 
that  great  subject,  tend  only  to  divert  it  and  occupy  it  with 
questions  not  affecting  the  main  issue."  The  first  object  of 
the  "  essay"  is  then  stated  to  be,  "  to  point  out  some  of  these 
extraneous  questions  and  difficulties,  and  expose  either  their 
fallacy  or  their  irrelevancy/'  "  The  next  object  will  be,  to 
state  the  scviptural  argument/ 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  207 

In  pursuing  this  plan,  the  writer  introduces  and  discusses, 
as  one  of  these  extraneous  difficulties,  the  objection  that  Epis 
copacy  is  inimical  to  a  free  government.  He  next  notices,  as 
"  another  of  these  extraneous  considerations,  the  comparative 
standing  in  piety  as  evinced  by  the  usual  tokens  of  moral  and 
spiritual  character,  of  the  members  respectively  of  the  Episco 
pal  and  non-Episcopal  churches."  A  third  "suggestion" 
noticed  is,  "  that  the  external  arrangements  of  religion  are  but 
of  inferior  importance,  and  that,  therefore,  all  scruple  concern 
ing  the  subject  before  us  may  be  dispensed  with."  p.  5.  A 
fourth,  "  apparently  formidable,  yet  extraneous  difficulty, 
often  raised,  is,  that  Episcopal  claims  unchurch  all  non-Epis 
copal  denominations."  p.  6.  This  consequence,  the  author 
of  the  tract  says  is  not  by  him  allowed.  "  But  granting  it  to 
the  fullest  extent,"  it  is  asked,  "  what  bearing  has  it  on  the 
truth  of  the  single  proposition  than  Episcopacy  is  of  divine 
ordinance  ?"  A  fifth  among  these  extraneous  points,  is,  "  the 
practice  of  adducing  the  authority  of  individuals,  who,  although 
eminent  in  learning  and  piety,  seem  at  last  to  have  contra 
dicted  themselves  on  their  public  standards  on  the  subject  of 
Episcopacy."  p.  7.  The  last  objection  noticed,  as  not  affect 
ing  the  ultimate  decision  of  the  controversy,  is,  "  that  though 
the  examples  recorded  in  Scripture  should  be  allowed  to  favour 
Episcopacy,  still  that  regimen  is  not  there  explicitly  com 
manded."  p.  9. 

To  most  of  the  observations  under  these  several  heads, 
we  give  our  hearty  assent.  And  it  will  be  perceived,  that  the 
controversy  is  thus  reduced  to  very  narrow  limits ;  and  that, 
if  these  principles  are  correct,  numberless  tomes  which  have 
been  written  on  both  sides  of  the  question  are  totally  useless. 
AVe  are  glad  that  all  this  extraneous  matter  is  struck  off,  and 
should  rejoice  if  every  consideration  of  this  kind  were  here 
after  to  be  laid  out  of  view. 

In   discussing  the  second  topic   proposed,  "  the  scriptural 


208  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

evidence  relating  to  tins  controversy,"  (p.  11,)  the  first  object 
of  Dr.  Onderdonk  is  to  state  the  precise  point  in  debate.  It 
is  then  observed,  that  "  parity  declares  that  there  is  but  one 
order  of  men  authorized  to  minister  in  sacred  things,  all  of 
this  order  being  of  equal  grade,  and  having  inherently  equal 
spiritual  rights.  Episcopacy  declares  that  the  Christian  minis 
try  was  established  in  three  orders,  called  ever  since  the  apos 
tolic  age,  bishops,  presbyters  or  elders,  and  deacons ;  of  which 
the  highest  only  has  a  right  to  ordain  and  confirm,  that  of 
general  supervision  in  a  diocese,  etc."  p.  11.  The  main  ques 
tion  is  then  stated,  correctly,  to  be,  that  "  concerning  the  su 
periority  of  bishops;"  and  the  object  of  the  essay  is  to  prove 
that,  according  to  the  New  Testament,  such  an  order  existed, 
and  was  clothed  with  such  peculiar  powers,  p.  11.  Let  it  not 
be  forgotten  that  this  is  the  main  point  in  the  case ;  and  that 
if  this  is  not  made  out,  so  as  to  be  binding  on  the  church 
everywhere,  the  claims  of  Episcopacy  fall  to  the  ground. 

In  endeavouring  to  establish  this  point,  the  author  main 
tains,  a  that  the  apostles  ordained,"  and  denies  that  elders 
(presbyters)  ever  did.  p.  14.  In  supporting  this  position,  the 
plan  of  argument  is  to  show,  that  athe  apostles  and  elders  had 
not  equal  power  and  rights,  p.  14.  An  attempt  is,  therefore, 
made  to  prove  that  the  difference  between  the  two  orders  is, 
that  the  former  had  the  power  of  ordination,  the  latter  not. 
In  pursuing  the  reasoning,  (p.  16,)  the  writer  endeavours  to 
show,  that  "  there  is  no  scriptural  evidence  that  mere  elders 
(presbyters)  ordained."  Under  this  branch  of  the  argument, 
he  examines  the  texts  which  have  usually  been  adduced  in 
favour  of  Presbyterian  ordination.  Having  shown,  as  he  sup 
poses,  that  these  passages  do  not  prove  that  they  did  thus 
ordain,  Dr.  Onderdonk  next  proceeds  to  the  last  branch  of 
the  subject,  viz.,  that  "  this  distinction  between  elders  and  a 
grade  superior  to  them,  in  regard  especially  to  the  power  of 
ordaining,  was  so  persevered  in,  as  to  indicate  that  it  was  a 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE. 

2)crmancnt  arrangement,  and  not  designed  to  be  but  tempo 
rary."  p.  23. 

This  is  the  outline  of  the  argument.  It  manifestly  em 
braces  the  essential  points  of  the  case.  And  if  these  positions 
cannot  be  maintained;  Episcopacy  has  no  binding  obligation 
on  men,  and  such  a  claim  should  be  at  once  abandoned.  This 
argument  \ve  propose,  with  great  respect,  but  with  entire  free 
dom,  to  examine.  And  we  expect  to  show,  that  the  point  is 
not  made  out,  that  the  New  Testament  has  designated  a 
superior  rank  of  church  officers,  intrusted  with  the  sole  power 
of  ordination,  and  general  superintendence  of  the  church. 

In  entering  on  this  discussion,  we  shall  first  endeavour  to 
ascertain  the  real  point  of  the  controversy,  and  to  show  that 
the  Scripture  authorities  appealed  to,  do  not  establish  the 
point  maintained  by  Episcopalians.  In  pursuance  of  this,  we 
remark,  that  the  burden  of  proof  lies  wholly  on  the  friends  of 
Episcopacy.  They  set  up  a  claim, — which  they  affirm  to  be 
binding  on  all  the  churches  of  every  age.  It  is  a  claim  which 
is  specific,  and  which  must  be  made  out,  or  their  whole 
pretensions  fall.  In  what  predicament  it  may  leave  other 
churches,  is  not  the  question.  It  would  not  prove  Episcopacy 
to  be  of  divine  origin,  could  its  friends  show  that  Presbyte- 
rianism  is  unfounded  in  the  Scriptures ;  or  that  Congregation 
alism  has  no  claims  to  support ;  or  that  Independency  is 
unauthorized ;  or  even  that  lay-ordination  is  destitute  of  direct 
support.  The  question,  after  all,  might  be,  whether  it  was 
the  design  of  the  apostles  to  establish  any  particular  form 
of  church  government,  any  more  than  to  establish  a  fixed 
mode  of  civil  administration  ?  This  question  we  do  not 
intend  to  examine  now,  neither  do  we  design  to  express  any 
opinion  on  it.  We  affirm  only  that  it  is  a  question  on  which 
much  may  be  said,  and  which  should  not  be  considered  as 
settled  in  this  controversy.  The  specific  point  to  be  made  out 
is,  that  there  is  scriptural  authority  for  that  which  is  claimed 

16* 


210  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

for  the  bishops.  And  we  may  remark,  further,  that  this  is 
not  a  claim  which  can  be  defended  by  any  doubtful  passages 
of  Scripture,  or  by  any  very  circuitous  mode  of  argumentation. 
As  it  is  expected  to  affect  the  whole  organization  of  the 
church'  to  constitute,  in  fact,  the  peculiarity  of  its  organiza 
tion  •  and  to  determine,  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  the  validity 
of  all  its  ordinances,  and  its  ministry ;  we  have  a  right  to 
demand  that  the  proof  should  not  be  of  a  doubtful  character, 
or  of  a  nature  which  is  not  easily  apprehended  by  the  ordinary 
readers  of  the  New  Testament. 

We  repeat,  now,  as  of  essential  importance  in  this  contro 
versy,  that  the  burden  of  proof  lies  on  the  friends  of  Episco 
pacy.  It  is  theirs  to  make  out  this  specific  claim.  To  decide 
whether  they  can  do  so,  is  the  object  of  this  inquiry. 

The  first  question,  then,  is,  What  is  the  claim  j  or,  what  is 
the  essential  point  which  is  to  be  made  out  in  the  defence  of 
Episcopacy  ?  This  claim  is  stated  in  the  following  words  : 
(p.  11 :)  "  Episcopacy  declares,  that  the  Christian  ministry 
was  established  in  three  orders,  called,  ever  since  the  apostolic 
age,  bishops,  presbyters  or  elders,  [if  so,  why  do  they  now 
call  the  second  order  priests?]  and  deacons;  of  which  the 
highest  only  has  the  right  to  ordain  and  confirm,  that  of  the 
chief  administration  in  a  diocese,  and  that  of  the  chief  admi 
nistration  of  spiritual  discipline,  besides  enjoying  all  the 
powers  of  the  other  grades."  The  main  question,  as  thus 
stated,  relates  to  the  authority  of  bishops;  and  the  writer 
adds,  "If  we  cannot  authenticate  the  claims  of  the  Episcopal 
office,  (the  office  of  bishops,)  we  will  surrender  those  of  our 
deacons,  and  let  all  power  be  confined  to  the  one  office  of 
presbyters."  The  same  view  of  the  main  point  of  the  con 
troversy  is  given  by  Hooker,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Polity." 
b.  vii.  §  2. 

It  will  be  seen  that  several  claims  are  here  set  up  in  behalf 
of  bishops.  One  is,  the  right  of  ordination ;  a  second,  that 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  211 

of  confifmation  •  a  third,  that  of  general  supervision;  a  fourth, 
that  of  the  general  administration  of  discipline.  These  arc 
separate  points  to  be  made  out ;  and  a  distinct  argument  might 
be  entered  into,  to  show  that  neither  of  them  is  founded  on 
the  authority  of  the  Scriptures.  To  enter  on  this  discussion, 
would  require  more  time  and  space  than  we  can  now  spare. 
Nor  is  it  necessary,  for  we  presume  the  Episcopalian  would  bo 
willing  to  stake  the  whole  cause  on  his  being  able  to  make  out 
the  authority  of  ordination  to  lie  solely  in  the  bishop.  For, 
obviously,  if  that  cannot  be  made  out,  all  the  other  preten 
sions  are  good  for  nothing ;  and,  as  the  writer  of  this  tract 
limits  his  inquiries  to  this  single  point,  we  shall  confine  our 
remarks  to  that  also. 

The  question,  then,  is,  Has  a  bishop  the  sole  power  of  or 
daining?  Is  setting  apart  to  a  sacred  office, — to  the  office 
of  preaching  and  administering  the  sacraments,  confined  in 
the  New  Testament  exclusively  to  this  order  of  ministers  ? 
The  Episcopalian  claims  that  it  is.  We  deny  it,  and  ask  him 
for  the  explicit  proof  of  a  point  so  simple  as  this,  and  one 
which  we  have  a  right  to  expect  he  will  make  o-ut,  with  very 
great  clearness,  from  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 

The  first  proof  adduced  by  the  author  is,  that  the  apostles 
had  the  sole  power  of  ordaining.  This  is  a  highly  important 
point  in  the  discussion,  or  rather,  as  already  remarked,  the 
very  hinge  of  the  controversy.  We  cannot,  therefore,  but  ex 
press  our  surprise  that  a  writer  who  can  see  the  value  and 
bearing  of  an  argument  so  clearly  as  Dr.  Onderdonk,  should 
not  have  thought  himself  called  upon  to  devote  more  than  two 
pages  to  its  direct  defence;  and  that,  without  adducing  any 
explicit  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  The  argument 
stated  in  these  two  pages,  or  these  parts  of  three  pages, 
(14,  15,  10,)  rests  on  the  assumption,  that  the  apostles 
ordained.  "  That  the  apostles  ordained,  all  agree."  Now, 
if  this  means  any  thing  to  the  purpose,  it  means  that  they 


212  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

ordained  as  apostles  ;  or  that  they  were  set  apart  to  the  apos 
tolic  office  for  the  purpose  of  ordaining.  But  this  we  shall 
take  the  liberty  to  deny,  and  to  prove  to  be  an  unfounded 
claim.  Having  made  this  assumption,  the  writer  adds,  that 
a  distinction  is  observed  in  the  New  Testament  between  "  the 
apostles  and  elders,"  the  apostles  and  elders,  and  brethren." 
He  next  attempts  to  show,  that  this  distinction  was  not  made 
because  they  were  appointed  by  Christ  personally,"  nor  be 
cause  "they  had  seen  our  Lord  after  his  resurrection;"  nor 
"  because  of  this  power  of  working  miracles  :"  and  then  the 
writer  adds,  "It  follows,  therefore,  or  will  not  at  least  be  ques 
tioned, — a  qualification  which,  by  the  way,  seems  to  look  as 
if  the  writer  had  himself  no  great  confidence  in  the  consecu- 
tiveness  of  the  demonstration, — "that  the  apostles  were  dis 
tinguished  from  the  elders,  because  they  were  superior  to  them 
in  ministerial  power  and  rights."  p.  15.  This  is  the  argu 
ment;  and  this  is  the  whole  of  it.  On  the  making  out  of  this 
point,  depends  the  stupendous  fabric  of  Episcopacy.  Here  is 
the  corner-stone  on  which  rest  the  claims  of  bishops ;  this  the 
foundation  on  which  the  imposing  and  mighty  superstructure 
has  been  reared.  Our  readers  will  join  with  us  in  our  amaze 
ment,  that  this  point  has  not  been  made  out  with  a  clearer 
deduction  of  arguments,  than  such  as  were  fitted  to  lead  to  the 
ambiguous  conclusion,  "  it  follows,  therefore,  or — ." 

Now,  the  only  way  of  ascertaining  whether  this  claim  be 
well-founded,  is  to  appeal  at  once  to  the  New  Testament.  The 
question,  then,  which  we  propose  to  settle  now,  is,  Whether 
the  apostles  were  chosen  for  the  distinctive  and  peculiar  work 
of  ordaining  to  sacred  offices  ?  This  the  Episcopalian  affirms. 
This  we  take  the  liberty  of  calling  in  question. 

The  Evangelists  have  given  three  separate  and  full  accounts 
of  the  appointment  of  the  apostles.  One  is  recorded  by 
Matthew,  ch.  x. ;  another  by  Mark,  iii.  12,  etc;  the  third  by 
Luke,  ch.  vi.  They  were  selected  from  the  other  disciples, 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  213 

and  set  apart  to  their  work  with  great  solemnity.  Luke  vi. 
The  act  was  performed  in  the  presence  of  a  great  multitude, 
and  after  the  Saviour  had  passed  the  night  in  prayer  to  God. 
Luke  vi.  12.  The  instructions  given  to  them  on  the  occasion 
occupy,  in  one  part  of  the  record,  (Matt.)  the  entire  chapter 
of  forty-two  verses.  The  directions  are  given  with  very  great 
particularity,  embracing  a  great  variety  of  topics,  evidently 
intended  to  guide  them  in  all  their  ministry,  and  to  furnish 
them  with  ample  instruction  as  to  the  nature  of  their  office. 
They  refer  to  times  which  should  follow  the  death  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  were  designed  to  include  the  whole  of  their  pecu 
liar  work.  Matt.  x.  17-23. 

Now,  on  the  supposition  of  the  Episcopalian,  that  the  pecu 
liarity  of  their  work  was  to  ordain,  or  that  "  they  were  dis 
tinguished  from  the  elders  because  they  were  superior  to  them 
in  ministerial  powers  and  rights/'  (p.  15,)  we  cannot  but  re 
gard  it  as  unaccountable,  that  we  find  not  one  word  of  this 
here.  There  is  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  any  such  distin 
guishing  u  power  and  rights/'  There  is  nothing  which  can 
be  tortured  into  any  such  claim.  This  is  the  more  remark 
able,  as  on  another  occasion  he  sent  forth  seventy  disciples  at 
one  time,  (Luke  x.  1-16,)  usually  regarded  by  Episcopalians 
as  the  foundation  of  the  second  order  of  their  ministers  ;  (see 
"  The  Scholar  Armed  /')  and  there  is  not  the  slightest  inti 
mation  given,  that  they  were  to  be  inferior  to  the  apostles  in 
the  power  of  ordaining,  or  superintending  the  churches.  We 
do  not  know  what  explanation  the  Episcopalian  will  give  of 
this  remarkable  omission  in  the  instructions  of  the  primitive 
bishops. 

This  omission  is  not  the  less  remarkable  in  the  instructions 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  gave  to  these  same  apostles,  after  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  At  that  time,  we  should,  assuredly, 
have  expected  an  intimation  of  the  existence  of  some  such  pe 
culiar  power,  But,  not  the  slighest  hint  occurs  of  any  such 


214  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

peculiar  authority  and  superintendence.  Matthew,  (xxviii. 
18-20,)  Mark,  (xvi.  15-18,)  and  Luke,  (xxiv.  47-49,)  have 
each  recorded  these  parting  instructions.  They  have  told  us 
that  he  directed  them  to  remain  in  Jerusalem  (Luke)  until 
they  were  endued  with  power  from  on  high,  and  then  to  go 
forth,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature :  but  not  a  soli 
tary  syllable  about  any  exclusive  power  of  ordination;  about 
their  being  a  peculiar  order  of  ministers  ;  about  their  trans 
mitting  the  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  to  others.  We 
should  have  been  glad  to  see  some  explanation  of  this  fact. 
We  wish  to  be  apprised  of  the  reason,  if  any  exists,  why, 
if  the  peculiarity  of  their  office  consisted  in  "  superiority  of 
ministerial  powers  and  rights/'  neither  at  their  election  and 
ordination,  nor  in  the  departing  charge  of  the  Saviour,  nor  in 
any  intermediate  time,  we  ever  hear  of  it ;  that  even  the  advo 
cates  for  the  powers  of  the  bishop  never  pretend  to  adduce  a 
solitary  expression  that  can  be  construed  into  a  reference  to 
any  such  distinction. 

We  proceed  now  to  observe,  that  there  is  not  anywhere  else, 
in  the  New  Testament,  a  statement  that  this  was  the  peculiarity 
of  their  apostolic  office.  Of  this  any  man  may  be  satisfied, 
who  will  examine  the  New  Testament.  Or,  he  may  find  the 
proof  in  a  less  laborious  way,  by  simply  looking  at  the  fact, 
that  neither  Dr.  Onderdonk,  nor  any  of  the  advocates  of  Epis 
copacy,  pretend  to  adduce  any  such  declaration.  The  apostles 
often  speak  of  themselves;  the  historian  of  their  doings 
(Luke)  often  mentions  them;  but  the  place  remains  yet  to 
be  designated,  after  this  controversy  has  been  carried  on  by 
keen-sighted  disputants  for  several  hundred  years,  which 
speaks  of  any  such  peculiarity  of  their  office. 

This  point,  then,  we  shall  consider  as  settled,  and  shall  feel 
at  liberty  to  make  as  much  of  it  as  we  possibly  can  in  the 
argument.  And  we  might  here  insist  on  the  strong  presump 
tion  thus  furnished,  that  this  settles  the  case.  We  should  be 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  215 

very  apt  to  regard  it  as  decisive  in  any  other  case.  If  two 
men  go  from  a  government  to  a  foreign  court,  and  one  of  them 
claims  to  be  a  plenipotentiary,  and  affirms  that  the  other  is  a 
mere  private  secretary,  or  a  consul,  we  expect  that  the  claim 
ant  will  sustain  his  pretensions  by  an  appeal  to  his  com 
mission  or  instructions.  If  he  maintains  that  this  is  the 
peculiarity  of  his  office,  though  he  may  "  enjoy  all  the  powers 
of  the  other  grades,"  (p.  11,)  we  expect  to  find  this  clearly 
proved  in  the  documents  which  he  brings.  If  he  is  mentioned 
by  no  name  that  designates  his  office, — as  the  Episcopalian 
admits  the  bishop  is  not, — (pp.  12,  13,)  if  his  commission 
contains  no  such  appointment,  and  if  we  should  learn  that 
specific  instructions  were  given  to  him  at  his  appointment, 
and  again  repeated  in  a  solemn  manner  when  he  left  his  native 
shores ;  we  should  at  least  look  with  strong  suspicions  on 
these  remarkable  claims.  Would  not  any  foreign  court  decide 
at  once  that  such  pretensions,  under  such  circumstances,  were 
utterly  unfounded  ? 

We  proceed  now  to  inquire  whether  it  is  possible  to  ascer 
tain  the  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  ?  for  it  must  be 
conceded  that  there  was  something  to  distinguish  the  apostles 
from  the  other  ministers  of  the  New  Testament.  Here,  hap 
pily,  we  are  in  no  way  left  in  the  dark.  The  Saviour,  and 
the  apostles  and  sacred  writers  themselves,  have  given  an 
account  which  cannot  be  easily  mistaken ;  and  our  amazement 
is,  that  the  writer  of  this  tract  has  not  adverted  to  it.  The 
first  account  which  we  adduce  is  from  the  lips  of  the  Saviour 
himself.  In  those  solemn  moments  when  he  was  about  to 
leave  the  world  j  when  the  work  of  atonement  was  finished  j 
and  when  he  gave  the  apostles  their  final  commission,  he  in 
dicated  the  nature  of  their  labours,  and  the  peculiarity  of 
their  office,  in  these  words  :  (Luke  xxiv.  48  :)  "And  yc  are 
WITNESSES  of  these  thin  f/s.  And,  behold,  I  send  the  promise 
of  my  Father  upon  }ou,"  etc.  The  object  of  their  special 


216  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

appointment,  which  he  here  specifies,  was,  that  they  should 
be  WITNESSES  to  all  nations.  (Comp.  v.  47,  and  Matt,  xxviii. 
18,  19.)  The  "  things' '  of  which  they  were  to  bear  witness, 
he  specifies  in  the  preceding  verse.  They  were  his  sufferings 
in  accordance  with  the  predictions  of  the  prophets  :  "  thus  it  is 
written,  and  thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer;"  and  his  resur 
rection  from  the  dead:  "and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third 
day."  These  were  the  points  to  bear  "witness"  to  which 
they  had  been  selected ;  and  these  were  the  points  on  which 
they,  in  fact,  insisted  in  their  ministry.  See  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  passim. 

We  would  next  remark,  that  this  is  expressly  declared  to 
be  the  "  peculiarity"  of  the  apostolic  office.  It  was  done  so 
at  the  election  of  an  apostle  to  fill  up  the  vacated  place  of 
Judas.  Here,  if  the  peculiar  design  had  been  to  confer 
"  superiority  in  ministerial  rights  and  powers,"  we  should 
expect  to  be  favoured  with  some  account  of  it.  It  was  the 
very  time  when  we  should  expect  them  to  give  an  account  of 
the  reason  why  they  filled  up  the  vacancy  in  the  college  of 
apostles,  and  when  they  actually  did  make  such  a  statement. 
Their  words  are  these :  (Acts  i.  21,  22  :)  "  Wherefore,  of 
these  men  which  have  companied  with  us,  all  the  time  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among  us,  beginning  from  the 
baptism  of  John,  unto  that  same  day  when  he  was  taken  up 
from  us,  must  one  be  ordained  to  be  a  WITNESS  WITH  us 
of  his  resurrection."  This  passage  we  consider  to  be  abso 
lutely  decisive  on  the  point  before  us.  It  shows,  first,  for 
what  purpose  they  ordained  him,  and,  second,  that  they  were 
ordained  for  the  same  purpose.  Why  do  we  hear  nothing  on 
this  occasion  of  their  "  superiority  of  ministerial  rights  and 
powers?"  why  nothing  of  their  peculiar  prerogative  to  ordain? 
why  nothing  of  their  "  general  superintendence"  of  the 
church?  Plainly,  because  they  had  conceived  of  nothing 
of  this  kind  as  entering  into  their  original  commission  and 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    13 Y    SCRIPTURE.  217 

peculiar  design.  For  this  purpose  of  bearing  testimony  to 
the  world  of  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Messiah,  they 
had  been  originally  selected.  For  this  they  had  been  pre 
pared  by  a  long,  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Saviour. 
They  had  seen  him ;  had  been  with  him  in  various  scenes, 
fitted  to  instruct  them  more  fully  in  his  designs  and  cha 
racter;  had  enjoyed  an  intimate  personal  friendship  with 
him,  (1  John  i.  1,)  and  were  thus  qualified  to  go  forth  as 
"  witnesses"  of  what  they  had  seen  and  heard— to  confirm  the 
great  doctrine  that  the  Messiah  had  come,  had  died,  and  had 
risen,  according  to  the  predictions  of  the  prophets.  We  just 
add  here,  that  these  truths  were  of  sufficient  importance  to 
demand  the  appointment  of  twelve  honest  men  to  give  them 
confirmation.  It  has  been  shown,  over  and  over  again,  that 
there  was  a  consummate  wisdom  in  the  appointment  of  wit 
nesses  enough  to  satisfy  any  reasonable  mind,  and  yet  not  so 
many  as  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  tumult  or  popular  excite 
ment.  The  truth  of  the  whole  scheme  of  Christianity  rested 
on  making  out  the  fact  that  the  Lord  Jesus  had  risen  from 
the  dead :  and  the  importance  of  that  religion  to  the  welfare 
of  mankind  demanded  that  this  should  be  substantiated  to  the 
conviction  of  the  world.  Hence  the  anxiety  of  the  eleven  to 
complete  the  number  of  the  original  witnesses  selected  by  the 
Saviour,  and  that  the  person  chosen  should  have  the  same 
acquaintance  with  the  facts  that  they  had  themselves. 

It  is  worthy,  also,  of  remark,  that  in  the  account  which  the 
historian  gives  of  their  labours,  this  is  the  main  idea  which  is 
presented.  Acts  ii.  32.  "  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up, 
whereof  ice  are  witnesses."  v.  32.  "  And  we  are  witnesses 
of  these  things."  x.  30-41.  "  And  we  are  witnesses  of  all 
things  which  he  did,  both  in  the  land  of  the  Jews  and  in 
Jerusalem,  whom  they  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree."  "  Him 
God  raised  up  the  third  day,  and  showed  him  openly  not  unto 
all  the  people,  but  unto  WITNESSES  chosen  Ix'forc  of  GoJ,  cr<  it 
VOL.  T.  10 


218  ESSAYS    AND    HE  VIEWS. 

unto  ws/'  etc.  In  this  place  we  meet  with  another  declaration 
that  this  was  the  object  of  their  original  appointment.  They 
were  u  chosen"  for  this,  and  set  apart  in  the  holy  presence  of 
God  to  this  work.  Why  do  we  not  hear  any  thing  of  their 
superiority  in  ministerial  rights  and  powers  ?"  Why  not  an 
intimation  of  the  power  of  confirming,  and  of  general  super 
intendence  ?  We  repeat,  that  it  is  not  possible  to  answer 
these  questions,  except  on  the  supposition  that  they  did  not 
regard  any  such  powers  as  at  all  entering  into  the  peculiarity 
of  their  commission. 

Having  disposed  of  all  that  is  said  in  the  New  Testament, 
so  far  as  we  know,  of  the  original  design  of  the  appointment 
to  the  apostolic  ofiice,  we  proceed  to  another  and  somewhat 
independent  source  of  evidence.  The  original  number  of  the 
apostles  was  twelve.  The  design  of  their  selection  we  have 
seen.  For  important  purposes,  however,  it  pleased  God  to 
add  to  their  number,  one,  who  had  not  been  a  personal  attend 
ant  on  the  ministry  of  the  Saviour,  and  who  was  called  to  the 
apostlcship  four  years  after  the  crucifixion  and  resurrection  of 
Christ.  Now  this  is  a  case,  evidently,  which  must  throw  very  im 
portant  light  on  our  inquiries.  It  is  independent  of  the  others. 
And  as  he  was  not  a  personal  observer  of  the  life  and  death 
of  Jesus  j  as  he  was  not  an  original  "witness"  in  the  case,  WG 
may  expect  in  the  record  of  his  appointment,  a  full  account 
of  his  "  superiority  in  ministerial  rights  and  powers."  If 
such  superiority  entered  into  the  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic 
office,  this  was  the  very  case  where  we  expect  to  find  it.  Ili.s 
conversion  was  subsequent  to  the  resurrection.  He  was  to  be 
employed  extensively  in  founding  and  organizing  churches. 
He  was  to  have  intrusted  to  him  almost  the  entire  pagan 
world.  Comp.  Rom.  xv.  16.  His  very  business  seemed  to 
call  for  some  specific  account  of  "  superiority  in  ministerial 
rights,"  if  any  such  rights  were  involved  in  the  apostolic 
ofiice.  llow  natural  to  expect  a  statement  of  such  rights,  and 


\\  '^  " 

EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  210 

an  account  of  the  "  general  superintendence"  intrusted  to  him 
as  an  apostle  !  Let  us  look,  therefore,  and  see  how  the  case 
stands.  We  have  three  distinct  accounts  of  his  conversion 
and  appointment  to  the  apostleship,  in  each  of  which  the 
de&tyn  of  his  appointment  is  stated.  Acts  xxii.  14,  15.  In 
his  discourse  before  the  Jews,  he  repeats  the  charge  given  to 
him  by  Ananias,  at  Damascus:  "The  God  of  our  fathers  hath 
chosen  thcc,  etc.  For  thou  shalt  be  his  WITNESS  unto  all  mm 
of  iL-ltat  thou  h(ist  seen  and  heard."  Again,  (Acts  xxvi.  16,) 
in  his  speech  before  Agrippa,  Paul  repeats  the  words  addressed 
to  him  by  the  Lord  Jesus  in  his  original  commission :  "  I  have 
appeared  unto  thce  for  this  jpw^asc,  to  make  thee  a  minister 
and  a  WITNESS  of  those  things,"  etc.  Again,  (Acts  xxiii.  11,) 
in  the  account  which  is  given  of  his  past  and  future  work,  it 
is  said :  "  As  thou  hast  testified  of  me  in  Jerusalem,  so  must 
thou  bear  witness  also  at  Home." 

This  is  the  account  which  is  given  of  the  call  of  Saul  of 
Tarsus  to  the  apostolic  office.  But  where  is  there  a  single 
syllable  of  any  "superiority  in  ministerial  powers  and  rights," 
as  constituting  the  peculiarity  of  his  office  ?  We  respectfully 
ask  the  writer  of  this  tract,  and  all  other  advocates  of  Episco 
pacy,  to  point  to  us  a  "  a  light  or  shadow"  of  any  such  Epis 
copal  investment.  We  think  their  argument  demands  it. 
And  if  there  is  no  such  account,  neither  in  the  original  choice 
of  the  twelve,  nor  in  the  appointment  of  Matthias,  nor  in  the 
selection  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles;  we  take  the  liberty  to 
insist  with  firmness  on  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  causes 
which  operated  to  produce  the  omission  of  the  very  essence 
of  their  office,  according  to  Episcopacy.  We  insist  on  being 
told  of  some  reasons,  prudential  or  otherwise,  which  made  it 
proper  to  pass  over  the  very  vitality  of  the  original  com 
mission. 

But  we  have  not  done  with  the  apostle  Paul.  He  is  too 
important  a  "  witness"  for  us,  as  well  as  for  the  purpose  for 


220  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

wliicli  lie  was  appointed,  to  be  dismissed  without  further 
attention.  It  has  been  remarked  already  that  he  was  not  a 
personal  follower  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  was  not  present  at 
his  death  and  ascension.  It  may  be  asked,  then,  how  could 
he  be  a  witness,  in  the  sense,  and  for  the  purposes  already 
described  ?  Let  us  see  how  this  was  provided  for.  We  tran 
scribe  the  account  from  his  own  statement  of  the  address  made 
to  him  by  Ananias.  Acts  xxii.  14.  "  The  God  of  our  fathers 
hath  chosen  thec,  that  thou  shouldst  know  his  will,  and  SEE 
that  Just  One,  and  shouldst  hear  the  words  of  his  mouth." 
That  he  had  thus  seen  him,  it  is  not  necessary  to  prove. 
See  1  Cor.  xv.  8  ;  Acts  ix.  5,  17.  The  inference  which  we 
here  draw  is,  that  he  was  permitted  to  see  the  Lord  Jesus 
in  an  extraordinary  manner,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
qualifying  him  to  be  invested  with  the  peculiarity  of  tlie 
apostleship.  This  inference,  sufficiently  clear  from  the  very 
statement,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  put  beyond  the  possibility 
of  doubt. 

"YVe  turn,  then,  to  another  account  which  Paul  has  given 
of  his  call  to  the  apostleship,  1  Cor.  ix.  1,  2  :  "  Am  I  not  an 
apostle  ?  Am  I  not  free  ?  Have  I  not  seen  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord?"  We  adduce  this  passage  as  proof  that  to  have  seen  Jesus 
Christ^  was  considered  as  an  indispensable  qualification  for  the 
apostleship.  So  Paul  regarded  it  in  his  own  case.  We  adduce  it 
also  for  another  purpose,  viz.,  to  strengthen  our  main  position, 
that  the  apostles  was  designated  to  their  office  specifically  as  wit 
nesses  to  the  character  and  resurrection  of  Christ.  If  this  was 
not  the  design,  we  ask,  why  does  Paul  appeal  to  the  fact  that 
he  had  seen  the  Saviour,  as  proof  that  he  was  qualified  to  be 
an  apostle  ?  And  we  further  ask,  with  emphasis,  if  the  apos 
tles,  as  Episcopalians  pretend,  did,  in  virtue  of  their  office, 
possess  li  superiority  in  ministerial  powers  and  rights,"  why 
did  not  Paul  once  hint  at  the  fact  in  this  passage  ?  His 
express  object  was  to  vindicate  his  claim  to  the  apostleship, 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  221 

In  doing  this,  lie  appeals  to  that  which  ice  maintain  to  have 
constituted  the  peculiarity  of  the  office,  his  being  "witness"  to 
the  Saviour.  In  this  instance  we  have  a  circumstance,  of 
which  Paley  would  make  much  in  an  argument,  if  it  fell  in 
with  the  design  of  the  "  Horse  Paulina)."  We  claim  the  pri 
vilege  of  making  as  much  of  it,  upon  the  question  whether  the 
peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  was  "  superiority  of  minis 
terial  powers  and  rights/7 

We  have  now  examined  all  the  passages  of  Scripture  which 
state  the  design  of  the  apostleship.  And  we  have  shown, 
if  we  mistake  not,  that  the  ground  of  the  distinction  between 
the  "  apostles  and  elders,"  "the  apostles  and  elders,  and 
brethren,"  was  not  that  the  former  had  superiority  of  "  minis 
terial  powers  and  rights."  We  might  leave  the  argument 
here ;  for  if  the  Episcopalians  cannot  make  out  this  point  to 
entire  satisfaction,  all  that  is  said  about  successors  in  the 
apostolic  office,  and  about  perpetuating  apostleship,  must  be 
nugatory  and  vain.  But  we  have  an  independent  topic  of 
remark  here;  and  one  which  bears  on  the  subject,  therefore, 
with  all  the  force  of  a  cumulative  argument.  To  the  consi 
deration  of  this  we  arc  led  by  the  next  position  of  Dr.  Onder- 
donk.  This  is  stated  in  the  following  words :  that  "  there 
was  continued,  as  had  begun  in  the  apostles,  an  order  of 
ministers  superior  to  the  elders."  p.  10.  This  he  attempts 
to  prove,  on  the  ground  that  "  there  is  no  scriptural  evidence 
that  mere  elders  (presbyters)  ordained."  pp.  16-23.  And 
that  "  the  above  distinction  between  elders  and  a  grade  supe 
rior  to  them,  in  regard  especially  to  the  power  of  ordaining, 
was  so  persevered  in  as  to  indicate  that  it  was  &  permanent 
arrangement,  and  not  designed  to  be  but  temporary."  pp.  23- 
29.  We  shall  reverse  the  order  of  this  argument. 

In  the  inquiry,  then,  whether  this  distinction  was  continued 
or  persevered  in,  we  might  insist  on  what  has  been  alr,eady 
shown,  as  decisive.  If  the  original  distinction  was  what  we 


222  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

have  proved  it  to  be.  it  could  not  be  persevered  in,  without 
(as  in  the  case  of  Paul)  a  personal,  direct  manifestation  of  the 
ascended  Saviour,  to  qualify  every  future  incumbent  for  the 
apostleship.  1  Cor.  ix.  1.  No  modern  "bishop,"  we  presume, 
will  lay  claim  to  this.  The  very  supposition  that  any  such 
revelation  was  necessary,  would  dethrone  every  prelate,  and 
prostrate  every  mitre  in  Christendom. 

But  we  have,  as  before  remarked,  an  independent  train  of 
arguments  on  this  point.  It  is  evident  that  the  whole  burden 
of  proof  here  lies  on  the  Episcopalian.  He  maintains  that 
such  an  original  distinction  existed,  and  that  it  was  perpe 
tuated.  Both  these  positions  we  deny.  The  first  we  have 
shown  to  be  unfounded,  and  have  thus  virtually  destroyed  the 
other.  We  proceed,  however,  to  the  comparatively  needless 
task  of  showing  that  Dr.  Onderdonk's  second  position  is 
equally  unfounded.  His  evidence  we  shall  examine  as  we 
find  it  scattered  throughout  the  tract  before  us. 

The  first  argument  is,  that  "  some  are  named  apostles  in 
Scripture,  who  were  not  thus  appointed,  (/'.  c.  by  the  Saviour 
himself,)  as  Matthias,  Barnabas,  and  probably  James,  the 
brother  of  our  Lord,  all  ordained  by  merely  human  ordainers. 
Silvanus  also,  and  Timothy,  are  called  'apostles;'  and, 
besides  Andronicus  and  Junia,  others  could  be  added  to  the 
list,"  p.  15. 

The  argument  here  is,  that  the  name  (i  apostle"  is  given  to 
them,  and  that  they  held,  therefore,  the  peculiar  office  in  ques 
tion.  But  the  mere  circumstance  that  they  had  this  numcj 
•would  not  of  itself  establish  this  point.  It  is  not  necessary, 
we  presume,  to  apprize  our  readers,  that  the  word  aposfle 
means  one  who  is  sent,  and  may  be  applied  to  any  person  cm- 
ployed  to  deliver  a  message ;  and  in  a  general  sense,  to  any 
ministers  of  religion,  or  to  any  one  sent  to  proclaim  the 
message  of  life.  Thus  in  John  xiii.  16,  it  is  applied  to  <my 
messenger,  sustaining  the  same  relation  to  one  who  scuds  him, 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  223 

that  the  servant  docs  to  his  master.  "The  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  lord,  [master,]  neither  he  that  is  sent, 
a-i'KT-o/.uq,  greater  than  he  that  sent  him."  Thus  it  is  applied 
(Phil.  ii.  25)  to  Epaphroditus,  not  as  an  apostle,  in  the  spe 
cific  sense  of  the  term,  but  as  a  mcwiif/cr,  sent  by  the  church 
at  Philippi,  to  supply  the  wants  of  Paul.  (Comp.  Phil.  iv.  18.) 
"•  Epaphroditus,  my  brother  and  companion  in  labour,  but 
your  niesscnyer"  b/j.ajv  Si  d-offrolov,  your  apnslle.  Thus  also 
in  2  Cor.  viii.  2o,  it  is  applied  to  the  "  brethren,"  "  the  mes 
sengers  of  the  churches;"  "  our  brethren  are  flu;  vu;x*cny<'rs 
of  tlie  clinrlies"  a-oato/M'  h.xXr^'.w^.  These  passages  show 
beyond  a  question,  that  the  name  is  often  used  in  the  New 
Testament  in  its  ycneric  signification,  and  consequently  the 
mere  fact  that  it  is  applied  to  an  individual,  is  not  proof  that 
he  was  an  apostle  in  its  specific  sense, — the  only  sense  which 
would  be  of  value  in  the  argument  of  the  Episcopalian.  The 
connections}  the  circumstances,  are  to  determine  its  meaning. 
AVe  make  this  remark,  in  accordance  with  the  judicious  ob 
servation  of  Dr.  Ondcrdonk,  p.  18  :  "A  little  reflection  and 
practice  ic ill  enable  any  of  our  readers  to  look  in  Scripture 
for  the  several  sacred  OFFICES,  independently  of  tlic  NAMES 
there  or  elsewhere  yiucn  to  them." 

The  question  then  is,  Whether  the  name  apostle  is  so  given 
to  the  persons  here  designated,  as  to  show  that  it  is  used  in  its 
strict,  specific  sense  ? 

The  first  case  is  that  of  "  Matthias."  The  reason  why  the 
name  was  given  to  him,  we  have  already  shown.  He  was  an 
apostle  in  the  strict j  proper  sense,  because  he  was  chosen  to  be 
a  "  witness"  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour.  Acts  i.  22. 

The  second  is  that  of  Barnabas.  He  is  once  called  an 
apostle.  Acts  xiv.  14.  That  he  was  not  an  apostle  in  the 
strict,  proper  sense,  Dr.  Ondcrdonk  has  himself  most  labo 
riously  and  satisfactorily  proved.  In  his  argument  against 
Presbyterian  ordinances,  (pp.  10,  17,)  he  has  taken  much 


224  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

pains  to  show  that  Barnabas  was  set  apart  (Acts  xiii.  1—3) 
"  to  a  special  missionary  work ;"  "  was  merely  set  apart  to  a 
particular  field  of  duty;"  that  is,  was  sent  as  a  messenger 
of  the  church  to  perform  a  particular  piece  of  work.  It  is 
observable  that  before  this,  Barnabas  is  called  merely  "  a  pro 
phet  and  teacher;"  (Acts  xiii.  1-11;)  that  he  is  called  an 
apostle  in  immediate  connection  with  this  designation,  and  no 
where  else.  Acts  xiv.  14.  How  Dr.  Onderdonk,  after  having 
shown  so  conclusively,  as  we  think,  that  the  transaction  at 
Antioch.  was  not  a  Presbyterian  ordination ;  that  it  was  a  mere 
designation  to  a  particular  field  of  labour,  should  persist  in 
maintaining  that  Barnabas  was  an  apostle,  in  the  strict  sense, 
as  having  a  "  superiority  of  ministerial  rights  and  powers/'  we 
profess  our  inability  to  conceive.  We  shall  thus  dismiss  the 
case  of  Matthias  and  Barnabas. 

The  next  case  is  "probably  James,  the  brother  of  our 
Lord."  The  use  of  the  word  probably,  here,  shows  a  wish  to 
press  cases  into  the  service,  which  we  regret  to  see  in  a  tract 
making  strong  pretensions  to  strict  demonstration,  (comp.  pp. 
3,  11,  16,  23,  etc. ;)  but  it  evinces  a  deficiency  of  strong,  pal 
pable  instances,  which  betrays  the  conscious  feebleness  of  the 
argument.  "  James,  the  Lord's  brother,"  is  once  mentioned 
as  an  apostle.  Gal.  i.  19.  But  it  could  not  have  escaped  the 
recollection  of  Dr.  Onderdonk,  that  there  were  two  of  the 
name  of  James  among  the  apostles  in  the  specific  sense  of  the 
term ;  viz.,  James  the  brother  of  John,  and  son  of  Zebcdee, 
and  James  tlie  son  of  Alpheus.  Matt.  x.  3;  Luke  vi.  15.  Nor 
can  it  be  unknown  to  him,  that  the  word  brother  was  used  by 
the  Hebrews  to  denote  a  relative  more  remote  than  that  which 
is  designated  by  the  ordinary  use  of  the  word  among  us;  and 
that  Alplieus  was  probably  a  connection  of  the  family  of  our 
Lord.  What  proof,  then,  is  there,  that  he  was  not  referred  to 
in  the  passage  before  us  ?  As  this  case  is  alleged  to  have 
only  a  probability  in  its  favour,  we  consider  it  disposed  of. 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  225 

Silvanus  and  Timothy  are  the  next  mentioned.  As  their 
claim  to  be  considered  apostles  rests  on  the  same  foundation, 
so  far  as  the  name,  is  any  evidence,  we  shall  dispose  of  theso 
cases  by  considering  that  of  Timothy  at  length  in  a  subse 
quent  part  of  the  argument. 

The  remaining  cases  are  those  of  Andronicus  and  Junia. 
The  foundation  for  their  claim  to  be  enrolled  as  apostles,  is  the 
following  mention  of  them  by  Paul :  (Rom.  xvi.  7  :)  a  Salute 
Andronicus  and  Junia,  my  kinsmen,  who  are  of  note  amony 
the  apostles"  ot-wiq  eifftv  i-iffr^wi  iv  rolq  d-offroZo'.q.  On  this 
claim  we  remark:  (1.)  Admitting  that  they  are  here  called 
apostles,  the  name,  as  we  have  proved,  does  not  imply  that 
they  had  any  "  superiority  of  ministerial  rights  and  powers." 
They  might  have  been  distinguished  as  messengers,  or  labour 
ers,  like  Epaphroditus.  (2.)  It  is  clear,  that  the  apostle  did 
not  mean  to  give  them  the  name  of  apostles  at  all.  If  he  had 
designed  it,  the  phraseology  would  have  been  different.  Comp. 
Rom.  i.  1;  1  Cor.  i.  1 ;  2  Cor.  i.  1;  Phil.  i.  1.  (3.)  All 
that  the  expression  fairly  implies,  is,  that  they,  having  been 
early  converted,  (Rom.  xvi.  7,)  and  being  acquainted  with  the 
apostles  at  Jerusalem,  were  held  in  high  esteem  by  them;  the 
apostles  regarded  them  with  confidence  and  affection.  We 
consider  this  case,  therefore,  as  disposed  of.* 

The  next  point  of  proof  in  the  tract  before  us,  "  that  the 
distinction  between  elders  and  a  grade  superior  to  them,  in 
regard  especially  to  the  power  of  ordaining,  was  so  persevered 
in  as  to  indicate  that  it  was  a  permanent  arrangement,"  is 
drawn  from  the  charge  given  by  the  Apostle  Paul  to  the  ciders 
of  Ephesus,  Acts  xx.  28—35.  The  point  of  this  evidence,  as 
we  understand  it,  is  this.  Paul  charges  the  elders  at  Ephesus 

*  Dr.  Onderdonk  says  that  Calvin,  in  his  Institutes,  "allows  Andro 
nicus  and  Junia  to  have  been  apostles ;"  but  he  ought  to  have  added  that 
Calvin,,  in  his  Commentary  on  the  passage,  written  at  a  later  period,  denies 
that  they  were  apostles  in  the  specific  sense  of  the  term. 


226  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

to  "take  heed  to  themselves," — Cl  to  take  heed  to  all  the  flock 
over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them  overseers, — to 
feed  the  church  of  God, — to  watch  against  the  grievous  wolves 
that  would  assail  the  flock,"  etc.  In  all  this,  we  are  told, 
there  .is  not  a  word  respecting  the  power  of  ordaining,  nor  any 
thing  which  shows  that  they  had  the  power  of  clerical  disci 
pline.  "No  power  is  intimated  to  depose  from  office  one  of 
their  own  number,  or  an  unsound  minister  coming  among 
them."  They  are  to  "  tend"  or  "  rule"  the  flock  as  shep 
herds;  "for  shepherds  do  not  tend  and  rule  shepherds." 
pp.  23,  24. 

This  is  affirmed  to  be  the  sole  power  of  these  elders.  In 
connection  with  this,  we  are  asked  to  read  the  Epistles  to 
Timothy, — the  power  there  given  "personally  to  Timothy  at 
Ephcsus"  (p.  23,)  or  as  it  is  elsewhere  expressed,  "  Compare 
now  with  this  sum-total  of  power  assigned  to  mere  elders,  or 
presbyters,  that  of  Timothy  at  Ephesus,  the  very  city  and 
region  in  which  those  addressed  by  Paul,  in  Acts  xx.,  resided 
and  ministered."  p.  25.  In  those  epistles  it  is  said,  that  the 
"  right  of  governing  the  clergy,  and  ordaining,  is  ascribed  to 
him  personally;"  and  numerous  undisputed  passages  arc  then 
adduced,  to  show  that  Timothy  is  addressed  as  having  this 
power.  1  Tim.  i.  18;  iii.  14,  15  ;  iv.  6;  1  Tim.  i.  3 ;  v.  19- 
21,  etc.  etc. 

Now  this  argument  proceeds  on  the  following  assumptions, 
viz. :  1.  That  Timothy  was  called  an  apostle*;  was  invested 
with  the  same  powers  as  the  apostles,  and  was  one  of  their 
successors  in  the  office.  2.  That  he  was,  at  the  time  when 
Paul  gave  his  charge  to  the  elders  at  Miletus,  bishop  of  Ephe- 
sus.  3.  That  the  "  elders"  summoned  to  Miletus,  were 
ministers  of  the  gospel  of  the  second  order,  or  as  they  are 
now  termed,  usually,  priests,  in  contradistinction  from  bishops 
and  deacons.  If  these  points  are  not  made  out  from  the  New 
Testament,  or  if  any  one  of  them  fails,  this  argument  for 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  227 

"  Episcopacy  tested  by  Scripture/'  will  be  of  no  value.  We 
shall  take  them  up  and  dispose  of  them  in  their  order. 

The  first  claim  is,  that  Timothy  is  called  an  "  apostle/'  and 
was,  therefore,  clothed  with  apostolic  powers.  This  claim  is 
advanced  on  p.  15  :  li  Silvanus,  also,  and  Timothy,  are  called 
'  apostles/  "  and  the  claim  is  implied  in  the  whole  argument, 
and  is  essential  to  its  validity.  The  proof  on  which  this  claim 
is  made  to  rest  is  contained  in  1  Thcss.  i.  1,  compared  with 
1  Thcss.  ii.  6.  Paul,  Silvanus,  and  Timothy,  are  joined  to 
gether  in  the  commencement  of  the  epistle,  as  writing  it  to 
the  church  at  Thessalonica ;  and,  in  ch.  ii.  6,  the  following 
expression  occurs:  "Nor  of  man  sought  we  glory,  when  we 
might  have  been  burdensome  as  the  apostles  of  Christ." 
This  is  the  sole  proof  of  the  aposil&iliip  of  Timothy, — of 
which  so  much  is  made  in  the  Episcopal  controversy,  and 
which  is  usually  appealed  to  as  itself  sufficient  to  settle  the 
question. 

Now,  without  insisting  on  the  point  which  we  have  made 
out,  that  the  apostolic  office  was  conferred  not  to  impart  "  su 
periority  of  ministerial  rights  and  powers,"  but  to  establish 
everywhere  the  great  doctrine  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and 
that  consequently  if  Timothy  is  called  an  apostle,  it  is  only  in 
the  generic  sense  of  the  word,  to  which  we  have  adverted,  and 
that  Paul  might  also  on  this  occasion  speak  of  himself,  as 
joined  with  Timothy  and  Silvanus,  as  a  messenger  of  the 
churches ;  (comp.  Acts  xiii.  2  ;  xiv.  14 ;  Rom.  xvi.  25  ;  2  Cor. 
viii.  23 /)  not  to  insist  on  this  position,  we  shall  dispose  of 
this  claim  by  the  following  considerations :  1.  The  passage 
does  not  fairly  imply  that  Timothy  was  even  called  an  apostle. 
For  it  is  admitted  in  the  tract,  (p.  15,)  that  "it  is  not  unusual 
for  St.  Paul  to  use  the  plural  number  of  himself  only."  It  is 
argued,  indeed,  that  the  words  "apostles"  and  "our  own 
souls,"  (v.  8,)  being  inapplicable  to  the  singular  use  of  the 
plural  number,  hence  the  "  three  whose  names  arc  at  the  head 


228  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

of  the  epistle,  are  here  spoken  of  jointly/'  But  if  Paul  used 
the  plural  number  as  applicable  to  himself,  would  it  not  be 
natural  for  him  to  continue  its  use,  and  to  employ  the  adjec 
tives,  etc.,  connected  with  it  in  the  same  number?  Besides, 
there  is  conclusive  evidence  that  Paul  did  not  intend  to  in 
clude  the  "  three"  named  at  the  head  of  the  epistle,  in  this 
expression  in  v.  6.  For,  in  the  verses  immediately  preceding, 
mention  is  made  that  "we  had  suffered  before,  and  were 
shamefully  treated,  as  ye  know,  at  Philippi,"  etc.  Now  it  is 
capable  of  demonstration  that  Timothy  was  not  present  at 
that  time,  and  was  not  engaged  in  those  labours,  or  subjected 
to  those  sufferings  at  Philippi.  Acts  xvi.  12,  19;  xviii.  1-4. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  Paul  did  not  intend,  here,  to  imply 
that  "the  three  named  at  the  head  of  the  epistle'7  were  apos 
tles  ;  and,  that  he  either  intended  to  speak  of  himself  alone, 
in  v.  6,  or  what  is  more  probable,  that  he  spoke  of  himself  as 
one  of  the  apostles,  and  of  what  the  apostles  might  do  in 
virtue  of  their  office ;  that  is,  that  they  might  be  burdensome, 
or  might  "use  authority,"  as  in  the  margin. 

Our  next  proof  that  Timothy  was  not  an  apostle,  is,  that  he 
is  expressly  distinguished  from  Paul,  as  an  apostle ;  that  is,  in 
the  same  verse,  Paul  is  careful  to  speak  for  himself  as  an 
apostle,  and  of  Timothy  as  not  an  apostle.  Thus,  2  Cor.  i.  1, 
"  Paul  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  Timothy  our  brother.'' 
Again,  Col.  i.  1,  "  Paul  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
Timothy  our  brother."  Now  our  argument  is  this,  that  if 
Paul  regarded  Timothy  as  an  apostle,  it  is  remarkable  that  he 
should  be  so  careful  to  make  this  distinction,  when  his  own 
name  is  mentioned  as  an  apostle.  Why  did  he  not  also  make 
the  same  honorable  mention  of  Timothy? — Will  some  of  our 
Episcopal  friends  be  kind  enough  to  state  why  this  distinction 
is  made  ? — The  distinction  is  the  more  remarkable,  from  the 
next  consideration  to  be  adduced,  which  is,  that  Paul  is  so 
cautious  on  this  point — so  resolved  not  to  call  Timothy  an 


EPISCOPACY  TESTED  BY  SCRIPTURE.      229 

apostle,  that  when  their  names  arc  joined  together,  as  in  any 
sense  claiming  the  same  appellation,  it  is  not  as  apostles,  but 
as  servants.  Phil.  i.  1  :  "  Paul  and  Timotheus  tJie  sorrows  of 
Jesus  Christ."  See  also  1.  Thess.  i.  1 ;  2  Thcss.  i.  1.  These 
considerations  put  it  beyond  debate,  in  our  view,  that  Timothy 
is  not  called  an  apostle  in  the  New  Testament.  This,  it  will 
be  perceived,  is  an  important  advance  in  our  argument. 

The  second  claim  for  Timothy  is,  that  he  was  bishop  of 
Ephcsus.  This  claim  is  essential  to  the  argument  of  Dr.  On- 
derdonk,  and  is  everywhere  implied  in  what  he  says  of  Timo 
thy.  See  pp.  23-25.  Proof  is  not,  indeed,  attempted ;  but  it 
is  assumed  as  a  conceded  point.  Now  this  point  should  have 
been  made  out,  for  it  is  not  one  of  those  which  we  are  dis 
posed  by  any  means  to  concede.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  too, 
that  it  is  a  point  which  is  to  be  made  out  from  the  New  Testa 
ment,  for  our  inquiry  is,  whether  Episcopacy  can  be  defended 
"  by  Scripture/'  Let  us  sec  how  this  matter  stands. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  that  the  subscription  at 
the  close  of  the  second  Epistle  to  Timothy,  "  ordained  first 
bishop  of  the  church  of  the  Ephesians,"  etc.,  is  admitted  on 
all  hands  not  to  be  inspired,  and,  therefore,  is  of  no  authority 
in  this  argument.  Assuredly  Paul  would  not  close  a  letter  in 
this  way,  by  seriously  informing  Timothy  that  he  wrote  a 
second  epistle  to  him,  etc.,  and  by  appending  this  to  the 
letter.  By  whom  these  subscriptions  to  the  epistles  were 
added  is  unknown.  Some  of  them  are  manifestly  false;  anil 
none  of  them,  though  true,  are  of  any  authority.  The  sub 
scription  here  belongs,  we  believe,  to  the  former  class. 

Now,  how  docs  the  case  stand  in  the  New  Testament,  with 
respect  to  Timothy  ?  What  testimony  does  it  afford  as  to  his 
being  "bishop  of  Ephesus ?"  A  few  observations  will  save 
further  debate,  we  trust,  on  this  subject. 

1.  It  is  admitted  that  he  was  not  at  Ephesus  at  the  time 
when  Paul  made  his  address  to  the  elders  at  Miletus.  Thus, 
VOL.  I.  20 


230  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

p.  25,  "  Epliesus  was  without  a  bishop  when  Paul  addressed 
the  elders,  Timothy  not  having  been  placed  over  that  church 
till  some  time  afterward."  Here,  then,  was  a  diocese,  or  one 
collection  of  churches,  which  is  admitted  to  have  been  consti 
tuted  without  a  bishop.  The  presumption  is,  that  all  others 
were  organized  in  the  same  way. 

2.  The  charge  which  Paul  gives  to  the  elders  proves  that 
Timothy  was  not  there  j  and  proves  further,  that  they,  at  that 
time,  had  no  bishops,  and  that  they  previously  had  none. 
They  are  charged  to  take  heed  to  themselves,  and  to  all  the 
flock,   "to  feed"  or  "  to  rule"  the  flock,  etc.     But  not  one 
word  is  to  be  found  of  their  having  then  any  prelatical  bishops ; 
not  one  word  of  Timothy  as  their  episcopal  leader.     Not  an 
exhortation  is  given  to  be  subject  to  any  prelate;  not  an  inti 
mation  that  they  would   ever  be  called  on  to  recognise  any 
such  bishops.     Not  one  word  of  lamentation  or  condolence  is 
expressed,  that  they  were  not  fully  supplied  with  all  proper 
episcopal  authority.      All   of  which  is   inexplicable,   on   the 
supposition  that  they  were  then  destitute,  and  that  they  would 
be  supplied  with  an  officer  C(  superior  in  ministerial  rights  and 
powers."     Nay,  they  are  themselves  expressly  called  bishops, 
without   the   slightest  intimation  that  there  were  any  Ju'yhe)', 
or  more  honourable  prelates  than  themselves,  (Acts  xx.  28  :) 
"  Take   heed,   therefore,   to  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock 
over  the  which  the    Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you   lisliops" 

i~t(77.6~OU$. 

3.  It  is  admitted  by  us,  that  Timothy  subsequently  was  at 
Ephesus,  and  that  he  was  left  there  for  an  important  purpose, 
by  the  Apostle  Paul.     This  was  when  Paul  went  to  Macedo 
nia.   1  Tim.  i.  3.     This  is  the  only  intimation  that  we  know 
of  in  the  New  Testament,  that  Timothy  was  ever  at  Ephesus 
at  all.     It  is  important,  then,  to  ascertain  whether  he  was  left 
there  as  a  permanent  Lislwp.     Now,  in  settling  this,  we  remark, 
it  is  nowhere  intimated  in  the  New  Testament,  that  he  was 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    buRIPTURE.  231 

such  a  bishop.  The  passage  before  us,  1  Tim.  i.  3,  states, 
tliat  when  they  were  travelling  together,  Paul  left  him  there, 
while  he  himself  should  go  over  into  Macedonia.  The  oljrrf, 
for  which  he  left  him  is  explicitly  stated,  and  that  object  was 
not  that  he  should  be  a  permanent  bishop.  It  is  said  to  be 
"to  charge  some  that  they  teach  no  other  doctrine,  neither  to 
give  heed  to  endless  genealogies,"  etc.;  that  is,  manifestly  to 
perform  a  temporary  office  of  regulating  certain  disorders  in  the 
church  ;  of  silencing  certain  false  teachers  of  Jewish  extraction : 
of  producing,  in  one  word,  what  the  personal  influence  of  the 
apostle  himself  might  have  produced,  but  for  a  sudden  and 
unexpected  call  to  Macedonia.  Acts  xx.  1.  Hence  it  is  per 
fectly  clear  that  the  apostle  designed  this  as  a  temporary 
appointment  for  a  specific  object,  and  that  object  was  not  to 
\>Q  prdute  of  the  church.  Thus  he  says,  1  Tim.  iv.  lo,  "T!U 
I  come,  give  attention  to  reading,"  etc.:  implying  that  his 
temporary  office  was  then  to  cease.  Thus,  too,  referring  to  the 
same  purpose  to  return  and  join  Timothy,  he  says,  1  Tim.  iii. 
II,  15,  "These  things  I  write  unto  thce,  hoping  to  come  unto 
tlicc  shortly;  but  if  I  tarry  long,  that  thou  mightcst  know 
how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thyself  in  the  house  of  God," 
etc. ;  implying  that  these  directions  were  particularly  to  serve 
him  during  his  appointment  to  the  specific  business  of  regu 
lating  some  disordered  affairs  produced  by  false  teachers,  and 
which  might  require  the  discipline  of  even  some  of  the  bis/tops 
and  deacons  of  the  church,  eh.  v.  vi.  These  directions,  in 
volving  (jcncral  principles,  indeed,  and  of  value  to  regulate  his 
whole  life,  yet  had,  nevertheless,  a  manifest  special  reference 
to  the  cases  which  might  occur  there,  in  putting  a  period  to 
the  promulgation  of  erroneous  doctrines  by  Jewish  teachers. 
I  Tim.  i.  3. 

4.  It  has  been  shown  by  the  late  Dr.  AYilson,  of  Philadel 
phia,  from  the  New  Testament  itself,  that  Timothy  was  not 
the  bishop  of  the  church  at  Kphcsns.  To  this  argument, 


232  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

which  is  too  long  to  be  inserted  here,  and  which  cannot  be 
abridged,  we  can  only  refer.* 

5.  The  claim  that  Timothy  was  bishop  of  Ephesus,  is  one 
that   must   be    made  out   by  Episcopalians    from    the    New 
Testament.     But  this  claim  has  not  been  made  out,  nor  can  it 
ever  be. 

6.  The  Epistle  to  the  Epliesians  shows  further,  that  at  the 
time  of  writing  that,  there  was  no  such  bishop  at  Ephcsus. 
Though  the  apostle  herein  gives  the  church  various  instruc 
tions   about   the   relations   which   existed,   there   is  not  the 
slightest  hint  that  Timothy  was  there ;  nor  is  there  the  least 
intimation  that  any  such  officer  ever  had  been,  or  ever  would 
be,  set  over  them. 

Now,  if  it  cannot  be  made  out  that  Timothy  was  bishop  of 
Ephesus,  if  the  point  is  not  established  beyond  a  doubt,  then 
in  reading  Paul's  charge  to  the  elders  at  Miletus,  we  are  to 
regard  them  as  intrusted  with  the  care  of  the  church  at  Ephe 
sus.  It  is  not  necessary  to  our  argument  to  inquire  whether 
they  were  ruling  elders,  or  presbyters  ordained  to  preach  as 
well  as  to  rule.  All  that  is  incumbent  on  us,  is  to  show  that 
the  New  Testament  does  not  warrant  the  assumption  that  they 
were  subject  to  a  diocesan  bishop.  We  affirm,  therefore,  sim 
ply,  that  Paul  addressed  them  as  intrusted  with  the  spiritual 
instruction  and  government  of  the  church  at  Ephesus,  without 
any  reference  whatever  to  any  person,  either  then  or  after 
ward  placed  over  them,  as  superior  in  ministerial  rights  and 
powers.  And  this  point  is  conclusively  established  by  two 
additional  considerations ;  first,  that  they  are  expressly  called 
"bishops,  k-Kr/.o-ooq,  themselves — a  most  remarkable  appellation, 
if  the  apostle  meant  to  have  them  understand  that  they  were 
to  be  under  the  administration  of  another  bishop  of  superior 
ministerial  powers  and  rights;  and,  secondly,  that  they  are 

*    The  Primitive  Government  of  the  Christian  Churches,  pp.  251-262. 


EPISCOPACY  TESTED  BY  SCRIPTURE.       233 

expressly  intrusted  with  the  whole  spiritual  charge  of  the 
church,  ~oifj.a{y£ty  rrtv  i'/.y.l.r^iw^  x.  r.  A.  But  every  thing  in 
this  case  is  fully  met  by  the  supposition  that  they  were  in 
vested  with  the  simple  power  of  ruliny.  Dr.  Onderdonk  him 
self  admits  that  the  word  translated  "  feed/'  -mtj.aivziV)  may 
be  rendered  to  "rule."  p.  37.  And  if  this  point  be  conceded, 
the  idea  that  they  were  ciders  in  the  Presbyterian  sense,  is  all 
that  can  be  proved  from  the  passage.  It  is  essential  to  the 
argument  of  Episcopalians,  that  they  should  be  able  to  make 
out  that  these  ciders  not  only  rulcJ,  but  also  preached  the 
gospel,  and  performed  the  other  functions  of  their  "second 
order'7  of  clergy. 

Let  us  now  gather  the  results  of  our  investigation,  and  dis 
pose  of  the  case  of  Timothy.  We  have  shown  that  he  was 
not  an  apostle.  We  have  further  shown  that  he  was  not 
bishop  of  Ephesus.  We  have  thus  destroyed  the  claim  of 
the  2>c*'mun<">i<-'y  of  the  apostolic  office,  so  far  as  Timothy  is 
concerned.  And  we  now  insist  that  the  readers  of  the  New 
Testament,  they  who  wish  to  defend  Episcopacy  by  "  Scrip 
ture/'  should  read  the  two  Epistles  to  Timothy,  without  the 
vain  and  illusory  supposition  that  he  was  bishop  of  Ephesus. 
Agreeing  with  Dr.  Onderdonk  that  this  point  must  be  settled 
by  the  New  Testament,  and  that  "  no  argument  is  u-orth 
taking  into  tlie  account  which  has  not  a  palpable  bearing  on 
tlic  cl<'«r  (tnd  naked  topic — the  scriptural  evidence  of  Episco 
pacy •,"  (p.  3,)  we  now  insist  that  these  Epistles  should  be  read 
without  being  interpreted  by  the  unsupported  position  that 
Timothy  was  the  permanent  bishop  of  Ephesus.  We  insist, 
moreover,  that  that  supposition  shall  not  be  admitted  to 
influence  the  interpretation.  With  this  matter  clear  before 
us,  how  stands  the  case  in  these  two  Epistles  ?  We  answer, 
thus  :— 

(1.)  Timothy  was  sent  to  Ephesus  for  a  special  purpose — 
to  allay  contentions,  and  prevent  the  spreading  of  false  doc- 

20* 


234  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

trine.  1  Tim.  i.  3.  (2.)  This  was  to  be  tcmfrorary.  1  Tim. 
i.  3.  Comp.  iii.  14,  15;  iv.  13.  (3.)  He  was  intrusted  with 
the  right  of  ordination,  as  all  ministers  of  the  gospel  are,  and 
with  the  authority  of  government.  1  Tim.  i.  3;  v.  10-21  ; 
v.  22  ]  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  (4.)  Laying  out  of  view  the  gratuitous 
supposition  that  he  was  bishop  of  Ephesus,  the  charge  given 
to  Timothy  was  just  such  a  one  as  would  be  given  to  any 
minister  of  the  gospel  authorized  to  preach,  to  ordain,  to  ad 
minister  the  ordinances  of  the  church  and  its  discipline.  It 
is  just  such  as  is  given  now  to  men  who  hold  to  the  doctrine 
of  ministerial  parity.  The  "  charges"  which  are  given  to 
Presbyterian  and  Congregational  ministers  at  ordination,  are 
almost  uniformly  couched  in  the  same  language  which  is  used 
by  Paul,  in  addressing  Timothy;  nor  is  there  any  thing  in 
those  Epistles  which  may  not  be,  and  which  is  not,  in  fact, 
often  addressed  to  ministers  on  such  occasions.  With  just  as 
much  propriety  might  some  antiquarian  hereafter — some  fu 
ture  advocate  for  Episcopacy — collect  together  the  cJmrr/c-s 
now  given  to  ministers,  and  appeal  to  them  as  proof  that  the 
churches  in  New  England,  and  among  Presbyterians,  were 
Episcopal)  as  to  appeal  now  to  the  Epistles  to  Timothy,  to 
prove  his  office  as  a  prelate.  (5.)  The  Epistles  themselves 
contain  evidence  of  the  falsehood  of  the  supposition,  that  there 
was  an  order  of  men  superior  to  the  presbyters  in  "  ministe 
rial  powers  and  rights/7  There  are  but  tico  orders  of  minis 
ters  spoken  of,  or  alluded  to  in  the  Epistles- — bishojifs  and 
deacons.  There  is  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  any  other 
order.  We  call  the  attention  of  our  readers  here  to  an  em 
phatic  remark  of  Dr.  Onderdonk,  p.  12  :  "  ALL  that  we  read 
in  the  New  Testament  concerning  'bishops/  is  to 'be  regarded 
as  pertaining  to  the  'middle  grade:'  i.e.  nothing  in  these 
epistles  or  elsewhere,  where  this  term  is  used,  has  any  refer 
ence  to  a  rank  of  ministers  superior  '  in  ministerial  powers 
and  rights.'  ';  The  case  here,  ihen,  by  the  supposition  of  the 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE. 

Episcopalians,  is  this : — Two  epistles  are  addressed  by  an 
apostle  to  a  successor  of  tlio  apostles^  designated  as  such,  to 
retain  and  perpetuate  the  same  rank  and  powers.  Those  epis 
tles  are  designed  to  instruct  him  in  the  organization  and 
government  of  the  churches.  They  contain  ample  informa 
tion,  and  somewhat  protracted  discussions  on  the  following 
topics  :  The  office  of  a  presbyter.  The  qualifications  for  that 
oflice.  The  office  of  the  deacons.  The  qualifications  for  that 
office.  The  qualifications  of  deacon's  wives.  1  Tim.  iii.  The 
proper  discipline  of  an  elder.  The  qualifications  of  those  who 
were  to  be  admitted  to  the  office  of  deaconesses.  \  Tim.  v. 
The  duties  of  masters  and  servants.  1  Tim.  vi.  The  duties 
of  laymen.  1  Tim.  ii.  8.  And  of  Christian  females.  1  Tim. 
ii.  9-11.  Xay,  they  contain  directions  about  the  apostle's 
d<Hik,  and  his  parchments,  (2  Tim.  iv.  13  ;)  but  from  the 
beginning  to  the  cud,  not  one  single  syllable  respecting  the 
existence  of  a  grade  of  officers  in  the  church  superior  "  in 
ministerial  rights  and  powers;"  not  a  word  about  their  qualifi 
cations,  of  the  mode  of  ordaining  or  consecrating  them,  or  of 
Timothy's  fraternal  intercourse  with  his  brother  prelates ; 
nothing  about  the  subjection  of  the  priesthood  to  them,  or 
of  their  peculiar  functions  of  confirmation  and  superintend 
ence.  In  one  wTord,  taking  these  Epistles  by  themselves,  no 
man  would  dream  that  there  were  any  such  officers  in  ex 
istence.  AVe  ask  now,  whether  any  candid  reader  of  the  New 
Testament  can  believe  that  there  were  any  such  officers ;  and 
that  two  epistles  could  have  been  written  in  these  circum 
stances,  without  the  sliyldcst  allusion  to  their  existence  or 
powers?  uCredat  JuJseus  Apclla."  We  ask  whether  there 
can  be  found  now  among  all  the  charges  which  Episcopal 
bishops  have  given  to  their  clergy,  any  two  in  which  there 
shall  not  also  be  found  some  allusion  to  the  "primitive  and 
apostolic  order"  of  bishops  in  the  churches  ?  It  remains  for 
our  eyes  to  be  blessed  with  the  sight  of  one  Episcopal  charye, 


236  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

reminding   us,    in    this   respect,  of  the    charges  of   Paul  to 
Timothy. 

We  now  take  our  leave  of  the  case  of  Timothy.  The  case 
of  Titus,  the  next  in  order,  (pp.  26,  27,)  we  must  despatch  in 
fewer  words.  The  argument  of  Dr.  Onderdonk,  in  defence 
of  the  claim  respecting  Titus,  docs  not  vary  materially  from 
that  used  in  reference  to  Timothy,  p.  26.  It  is,  that  he  was 
left  in  Crete  to  ordain  elders  in  every  city,  and  that  the  powers 
of  "ordination,  admonition,  and  rejection,  are  all  committed 
to  Titus  personally."  Titus  i.  6-9 ;  iii.  10.  The  only  point 
here  which  requires  a  moment's  examination,  in  addition  to 
what  we  have  said  on  the  case  of  Timothy,  is  the  purpose  for 
which  he  was  left  at  Crete.  Titus  i.  5.  The  claim  of  the 
Episcopalians  here  is,  that  this  indicates  such  a  perseverance 
in  the  u  distinction  between  elders  and  a  grade  superior  to 
them,"  as  to  prove  that  it  was  "  to  be  a  permanent  arrange 
ment."  p.  23.  In  other  words,  Titus  was  to  be  a  permanent 
bishop  of  Crete,  superior  to  the  elders  (( in  ministerial  rights 
and  powers."  This  claim  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  establish 
from  the  New  Testament.  If  there  are  any  intimations  that 
it  was  not  designed  to  be  permanent,  they  will  be  fatal  to  the 
argument.  We  affirm,  then,  in  opposition  to  this  claim,  that 
the  case  is  fully  met  by  the  supposition  that  Titus  was  an  ex 
traordinary  officer,  like  Timothy,  at  Ephesus,  appointed  for  a 
specific  purpose.  1.  The  appointment  itself  looks  as  if  this 
was  the  design.  Paul  had  himself  commenced  a  work  there, 
which,  from  some  cause,  he  was  unable  to  complete.  That 
work  he  left  to  Titus  to  finish.  As  it  cannot  be  pretended 
that  Paul  had  any  purpose  of  becoming  the  permanent  bishop 
of  Crete;  so  it  cannot  be  pretended  that  Titus's  being  left  to 
complete  what  Paul  had  begun,  is  proof  that  Paul  expected 
that  Titus  would  be  permanent  bishop.  An  appointment  to 
complete  a  work  which  is  begun  by  another,  when  the  original 
designer  did  not  contemplate  a  permanent  employment,  cannot 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  237 

surely  be  adduced  in  proof  of  a  permanent  office.  If  T  am 
employed  to  complete  an  edifice  which  is  commenced,  it  does 
not  suppose  that  I  am  to  labour  at  it  all  my  life;  still  less, 
that  I  am  to  have  successors  in  the  undertaking.  We  pre 
sume  that  this  passage,  to  most  unbiassed  minds,  would  imply 
that  Paul  expected  that  Titus,  after  having  completed  what  he 
had  left  him  to  do,  would  leave  the  island  of  Crete,  and 
accompany  him  in  his  travels.  2.  That  this  was  the  fact; 
that  he  had  no  expectation  that  Titus  would  be  a  permanent 
bishop  of  Crete,  superior  in  "  ministerial  rights  and  powers," 
is  perfectly  apparent  from  the  direction  in  this  same  Epistle, 
(ch.  iii.  12  :)  "  When  I  shall  send  Artemas  unto  thee,  or 
Tychicus,  be  diUyent  to  come  unto  me  at  Nicopolis"  Here  we 
find  conclusive  proof,  that  the  arrangement  respecting  Titus  in 
Crete  was  temporary.  To  suppose  the  contrary,  is  to  maintain 
a  position  in  the  very  face  of  the  directions  of  the  apostle. 
Every  thing  in  the  case  shows,  that  he  was  an  extraordinary 
officer,  appointed  for  a  specific  purpose ;  and  that  when  that 
work  was  effected,  which  the  apostle  supposed  would  bo 
soon,  he  was  to  resume  his  station  as  the  travelling  compa 
nion  and  fellow-labourer  of  the  apostle.  8.  That  this  was 
the  general  character  of  Titus ;  that  he  was  so  regarded  by 
Paul,  as  his  companion,  and  very  valuable  to  him  in  his  work, 
is  further  apparent  from  2  Cor.  ii.  12,  13;  vii.  6-13.  In  the 
former  passage  he  says,  that  he  expected  to  meet  him  at 
Troas,  and  intimates  that  his  presence  and  help  were  very 
necessary  for  him.  "I  had  no  rest  in  my  spirit,  because  I 
found  not  Titus  my  brother."  In  the  latter  place,  (2  Cor. 
vii.  6-13, )  we  find  him  the  companion  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 
in  Philippi.  Again,  (2  Cor.  xii.  18,)  we  find  him  employed 
on  a  special  embassy  to  the  church  in  Corinth,  in  respect  to 
the  collection  for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem.  Comp.  Rom. 
xv.  26.  And  again  we  find  him  on  a  mission  to  Dalmatia, 
2  Tim.  iv.  10.  Assuredly  these  various  migrations  and  cm- 


238  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

ployments  do  not  appear  as  if  he  was  designed  by  the  apostle 
as  the  permanent  bishop  of  Crete.  4.  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  Titus  regarded  the  apostolic  mandate,  (Titus  iii.  12  ;) 
that  he  I'ft  Crete  in  accordance  with  Paul's  request  ;  and,  as 
there  is  no  intimation  that  he  returned,  as  the  New  Testament 
throws  no  light  on  that  point,  as  indeed  there  is  not  the  slight 
est  proof  anywhere  that  he  died  there,  we  come  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  he  was  employed  for  a  temporary  purpose,  and  that 
having  accomplished  it,  he  resumed  his  situation  as  the  com 
panion  of  Paul.  Comp.  Gal.  ii.  1.  It  must  be  admitted,  on 
all  hands,  that  the  Episcopalian  cannot  prove  the  contrary. 
Since,  moreover,  our  supposition  meets  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  as  well  as  his,  and  we  are  able  to  show  that  this 
was  the  general  character  of  the  labours  of  Titus,  we  shall  dis 
miss  his  case  also. 

The  last  argument  of  Dr.  Ondcrdonk  is  derived  from  the 
epistle  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia.  Rev.  ii.  iii.  This 
argument  is  embodied  in  the  following  position :  u  Each  of 
those  churches  is  addressed,  not  through  its  clergy  at  large, 
but  through  its  '  angel/  or  chief  officer;  this  alone  is  a  very 
strong  argument  against  parity  in  favour  of  Episcopacy. ;; 
"  One  of  those  churches  is  Ephesus ;  and  when  we  read  con 
cerning  its  angel,  '  tliou  hast  tried  them  which  say  they  are 
apostles,  and  are  not,  and  hast  found  them  liars/  do  we  require 
further  evidence  that  what  Timothy,  the  chief  officer  there, 
was  in  the  year  65,  in  regard  to  the  supreme  right  of  disci 
pline  over  the  clergy,  the  same  was  its  chief  officer  when  this 
book  was  written,  in  96  ?"  The  singular  number,  it  is  added, 
is  used  emphatically  in  the  address  to  each  of  the  angels, 
and  "  the  individual  called  'the  angel/  is,  in  each  case, 
identified  with  his  church,  and  his  church  with  him." 
pp.  27,  28. 

This  is  the  argument ;  and  this  is  the  whole  of  it.  Y\re 
have  sought  diligently  to  see  its  bearing;  but  our  labour,  in 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  239 

doing  it,  lias  not  been  crowned  with  very  flattering  success, 
We  can  see,  indeed,  that  those  churches  were  addressed 
through  their  ministers,  or  pastors,  called  "angels;"  but  it 
requires  more  penetration  than  we  profess  to  have,  to  discover 
how  this  bears  on  the  precise  point,  that  there  is  an  order  of 
men  superior  to  others  "  in  ministerial  rights  and  powers." 
Such  an  argument  can  be  founded  ority  on  the  following  as 
sumptions  :  1.  That  there  was  an  inferior  body  of  clergymen, 
called  here  "  clergy  at  large."  Assuming  this  point,  it  would 
not  be  difficult  to  make  out  an  argument  from  the  address 
"to  the  angel."  But  this  is  a  point  to  Leprowil,  not  to  be 
assumed.  We  would  respectfully  ask  the  writer  of  this  tract, 
where  he  finds  an  intimation  of  the  existence  of  an  order  of 
"clergy  at  large"  in  these  churches.  In  the  Epistles  them 
selves  there  is  not  the  slightest  hint  of  the  existence  of  any 
such  personages  distinct  from  "  the  angels."  Nay,  the  very 
style  of  address  is  strong  presumption  that  there  were  not  any 
such  inferior  clergymen.  The  only  mention  -which  occurs,  is 
of  the  angi'l  and  the  church.  We  hear  nothing  of  an  interme 
diate  order;  nothing  of  auy  supremacy  of  "the  angel"  over 
"the  clergy  at  large;"  not  the  least  intimation  of  any  duty 
to  be  performed  by  the  supposed  prelatical  "  angel,"  toward 
the  inferior  presbyters.  Why  is  a  reference  to  them  omitted, 
if  they  had  any  existence  ?  Is  it  customary  in  addressing 
"bishops"  noic,  to  omit  all  reference  to  their  duties  over  the 
inferior  "  clergy  at  large  ?"  This  is  a  point  of  too  much  con 
sequence  to  be  left  now  so  unguarded ;  and,  accordingly,  the 
rights  and  duties  of  the  order,  superior  "  in  ministerial  rights 
and  powers,"  are  sedulously  marked  out  and  inculcated.* 
2.  It  must  be  awumed,  in  this  argument,  that  there  were  in 


*  We,  of  course,  lay  out  of  view,  here,  the  case  of  the  "ciders  at  Ejihc- 
Sus,"  as  being  already  disposed  of;  and  as  not  being  relevant  to  Dr.  Onuer- 
donk's  argument,  since  that  they  \vorc  "  clorgy  at  lar^e,"  i?  to  be  ^-•orrc/. 
not  assumed. 


240  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

each  of  those  cities  more  churches  than  one ;  that  there  was  a 
circle,  or  confederation  of  churches  that  would  answer  to  the 
modern  notion  of  a  diocese,  over  which  "  the  clergy  at  large" 
of  inferior  "  ministerial  rights  and  powers/'  might  exercise  a 
modified  jurisdiction.  If  this  is  not  assumed,  the  argument 
has  no  force ;  since  if  there  were  but  one  church  in  each  of 
those  cities,  the  "angel"  was  not  a  bishop  in  the  Episcopal 
sense,  but  a  pastor  in  the  ordinary  acceptation.  Now  this  is  a 
point  which,  in  an  argument  like  this,  should  not  be  assumed. 
It  should  be  proved,  or  at  least  rendered  highly  probable  from 
the  New  Testament.  But  there  is  not  the  slightest  hint  of 
any  such  divided  and  scattered  diocesan  organization.  In 
each  instance,  the  church  is  addressed  as  one,  and  undivided. 
"  The  angel  of  the  cliurcli" — not  the  churches — of  "Ephcsus." 
Rev.  ii.  1.  li  The  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna,"  (ii.  8 j) 
"the  angel  of  the  church  at  Thyatira,"  (ii.  18;)  "the  angel 
of  the  church  in  Sardis,"  (iii.  1,)  etc.  In  every  instance  the 
address  is  the  same.  The  point  of  inquiry  now  is,  whether  in 
this  address  the  Saviour  meant  to  intimate  that  there  was  a 
plurality  of  churches,  an  ecclesiastical,  diocesan  organization  ? 
This  is  a  point  for  Episcopalians  to  prove,  not  to  assume. 
Light  may  be  thrown  on  it  by  comparing  it  with  other  places 
where  a  church  is  spoken  of.  The  presumption  is  directly 
against  the  Episcopalian.  It  is,  that  the  apostles  would  not 
organize  separate  churches  in  a  single  city ;  and  that,  if  it  were 
done,  they  would  be  specified  as  the  churches.  Accordingly, 
we  learn  that  the  apostle  organized  "a  church"  at  Corinth, 
1  Cor.  i.  1,  2.  Thus,  also,  at  Antioch.  Acts  xiii.  1.  Thus, 
also,  at  Laodicea.  Col.  iv.  16.  And  in  the  Epistle  to  one  of 
the  very  churches  under  consideration,  that  at  Ephesus,  it  is 
mentioned  not  as  the  churches  of  Ephesus,  but  as  the  church. 
Acts  xx.  28.  When  Paul  addressed  this  same  church  in  an 
epistle,  it  was  directed,  not  to  the  churches,  but  to  the  saints 
at  Ephesus.  Eph.  i  1.  But  where  there  were  distinct  churches 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  241 

crganized,  there  is  a  specific  mention  of  the  fact  of  the  plu 
rality.  They  are  mentioned  as  being  many.  Thus,  Acts 
xv.  41 :  "Paul  went  through  Syria  confirming  (i.e.  strengthen 
ing,  establishing)  the  churches."  Horn.  xvi.  4  :  "the  churches 
of  the  Gentiles."  1  Cor.  xvi.  1  :  "the  churches  of  Galatia." 
19  :  "  the  churches  of  Asia."  2  Cor.  viii.  1 :  "  the  churches  in 
Macedonia."  See  also  2  Cor.  viii.  19,  23;  xi.  8;  Gal.  i.  22; 
Rev.  i.  4.  Now  if  it  is  neither  proved  that  there  was  a  body 
of  "clergy  at  large/'  nor  that  there  were  separate  churches  in 
each  of  those  cities,  we  ask,  What  is  the  force  of  the  argu 
ment  of  Dr.  Onderdonk  from  this  case  ?  How  does  it  bear  on 
the  point  at  issue  ?  What  has  it  to  do  with  the  subject  ? 

With  one  or  two  additional  remarks,  we  shall  dismiss  this 
point.  The  first  is,  that  it  cannot  be  argued  from  the  term 
angel,  given  to  those  ministers,  that  they  were  Episcopal 
bishops.  That  term,  as  is  well  known,  has  no  such  exclusive 
applicability  to  a  prelate.  It  is  nowhere  else  applied  to  the 
ministers  of  religion  ;  and  its  original  signification,  "  a  messen 
ger,"  or  its  usual  application  to  celestial  spirits,  has  no  special 
adaptedness  to  an  Episcopal  bishop.  An  ordinary  pastor — a 
messenger  sent  from  God;  a  spiritual  guide  and  friend  of  the 
church,  will  as  fully  express  its  sense,  as  the  application  to  a 
prelate.  Without  invidiousness,  we  may  observe,  that  prelates 
have  not  usually  evinced  any  such  extraordinary  sanctity  as  to 
appropriate  this  title  to  themselves  alone  by  prescriptive  right. 
Our  other  remark  is,  that  the  supposition  that  these  anych 
were  pastors  of  the  churches — presbyters  on  a  parity  with 
each  other,  and  with  all  others — will  fully  meet  every  thing 
which  is  said  of  them  in  the  book  of  Revelation.  This  sup 
position,  too,  will  meet  the  addresses  made  to  them,  better 
than  the  assumption  that  they  were  prelates.  Their  union,  as 
Dr.  Onderdonk  remarks,  to  the  church  is  intimate.  "  The 
angel  is  in  each  case  identified  with  his  church,  and  his  church 
with  him."  Now  to  which  does  this  remark  best  apply?  to 


242  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

the  tender,  intimate,  endearing  relation  of  a  pastor  with  his 
people;  to  the  blending  of  their  feelings,  interests,  and 
destiny,  when  he  is  with  them  continually ;  when  he  meets 
them  each  week  in  the  sanctuary;  when  he  administers  to 
them  the  bread  of  life ;  goes  into  their  abode  when  they  are 
afflicted,  and  attends  their  kindred  to  the  grave  ? — or  does  it 
best  apply  to  the  union  subsisting  between  the  people  of  an 
extended  diocese — to  the  formal,  unfrequent,  and,  in  many 
instances,  stately  and  pompous  visitations  of  a  diocesan  bishop; 
to  the  kind  of  connection  formed  between  a  people  scattered 
into  many  churches,  who  are  visited  at  intervals  of  a  year,  or 
more,  by  one  claiming  ua  superiority  in  ministerial  rights 
and  powers/'  robed  in  lawn,  and  perhaps  with  the  crosier  and 
mitre,  as  emblematical  of  office,  state,  and  power;  who  must 
be  a  stranger  to  the  ten  thousand  tender  ties  of  endearment 
which  bind  as  one  the  hearts  of  a  pastor  and  his  people  ?  To 
our  minds,  it  seems  clear  that  the  account  which  Dr.  Oncler- 
donk  has  given  of  the  "identity"  of  the  angel  and  the  church 
applies  to  the  former,  and  not  to  the  latter.  It  speaks  the 
sentiments  of  our  heart,  as  respects  the  union  of  a  pastor  and 
people.  And,  while  we  would  not  allow  ourselves  to  speak 
with  disrespect  of  the  episcopal  office,  we  still  feel  that  the 
language  of  the  Saviour,  by  the  mild  and  gentle  John,  to  the 
churches  of  Asia,  breathes  far  more  of  the  endearing  "Iden 
tity"  of  the  pastoral  relation,  than  it  does  of  the  comparatively 
cold  and  distant  functions  of  one,  who,  in  all  other  lands  but 
this,  has  been  invested  with  his  office  by  the  imposing  cere 
mony  of  enthroning,  and  who  has  borne,  less  as  badges  of 
affection  than  of  authority,  the  crosier  and  the  mitre. 

We  have  now  gone  entirely  through  with  the  argument  of 
Dr.  Onderdonk,  in  proof  that  there  is  an  order  of  men  supe 
rior  "  in  ministerial  rank  and  powers."  We  have  intended 
to  do  justice  to  his  proofs,  and  we  have  presented  the  whole 
of  them. 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  243 

Our  readers  have  all  that  Episcopalians  rely  on  from  the 
Scriptures  in  vindication  of  the  existence  of  such  an  order  of 
men.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  burden  of  proof  lies 
on  them.  They  advance  a  claim  which  is  indispensable  to  the 
existence  of  their  ecclesiastical  polity.  These  are  the  argu 
ments  on  which  they  rely.  Whether  their  arguments  justify 
the  language  of  assumption  which  we  sometimes  hear;  whe 
ther  they  are  such  as  to  render  appropriate  the  description  of 
all  people  but  the  members  of  Episcopal  churches,  as  left  to 
'•  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God;"*  whether  they  are  such 
as  to  prompt,  legitimately,  to  a  very  frequent  reference  to 
"the  primitive  and  apostolic  order"  of  the  ministry;  or  to 
the  modest  use  of  the  term  "  the  church,"  with  an  exclusive 
reference  to  themselves,  must  now  be  left  to  the  judgment  of 
our  readers. 

'  It  was  our  intention,  originally,  to  have  gone  somewhat  at 
length  into  a  defence  of  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  ministerial 
parity.  But  the  unexpected  length  of  our  article  admonishes 
us  to  close.  We  are  the  less  dissatisfied  with  this  admonition, 
because  we  conceive  the  point  already  made  out.  If  Episco 
palians  cannot  make  good  their  claims  in  reference  to  their 
bishop,  it  follows  of  course  that  ministers  are  on  an  equality. 

*  Wo  do  not  charge  Dr.  Onderdonk  with  having  any  such  views  and 
feelings.  We  have  great  pleasure  in  recording  his  dissent  from  the  use 
of  such  language,  and  from  such  consequences,  p.  G.  "An  apparently 
formidable,  yet  extraneous  difficulty,  often  raised,  is,  that  Episcopal  claims 
unchurch  all  non-Episcopal  denominations.  By  the  present  writer  this  con 
sequence  is  not  allowed."  We  simply  state  this  with  high  gratification.  Wo 
are  happy  also  that  wo  are  not  called  upon  to  reconcile  the  admission  with 
the  claim  set  up  in  this  tract,  that  "the  authority  of  Episcopacy  is  perma 
nent,  down  to  the  present  age  of  the  world,"  (p.  40;)  that  the  obligation 
of  Christians  to  support  bishops — i.  c.  to  conform  to  Episcopacy — is  not 
ended,  (p.  40  :)  that  of  "any  two  ministries  now  existing,  the  former 
(Episcopacy)  is  obligatory,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  latter,"  (parity,  p.  39:) 
and  that  "the  position  cannot  be  evaded,  that  Episcopacy  is  permanently 
bin<iin<j  'even  to  the  end  of  the  world.'" 


244  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

The  whole  argument  is  concentrated  in  their  claim.  We  take 
our  stand  here.  It  is  admitted  on  all  hands,  that  there  is 
somewhere  in  the  church  a  right  to  ordain.  Episcopalians, 
with  singular  boldness,  in  not  a  few  instances  with  professed, 
and  in  all  with  real  cxclusiveuess,  maintain  that  this  power 
lies  only  in  the  bisJiop.  They  advance  a  claim  to  certain 
rights  and  powers  ,  and  if  that  claim  is  not  made  out,  the 
argument  is  at  an  end.  The  power  of  ordination  must  remain 
with  those  over  whom  they  have  set  up  the  power  of  jurisdic 
tion  and  control.  This  claim,  as  we  have  seen,  is  not  made 
out.  If,  from  the  authority  of  the  New  Testament,  they 
cannot  succeed  in  dividing  the  ministers  of  religion  into 
various  ranks  and  orders,  it  follows  that  the  clergy  remain  on 
an  equality. 

On  this  point,  also,  they  are  compelled,  as  we  conceive,  to 
admit  the  whole  of  our  argument.  So  manifest  is  it,  that  the 
sacred  writers  knew  of  no  such  distinction ;  that  they  regarded 
all  ministers  of  the  gospel  as  on  a  level ;  that  they  used  the 
same  name  in  describing  the  functions  of  all ;  that  they  ad 
dressed  all  as  having  the  same  episcopal,  or  pastoral  supervi 
sion,  that  the  Episcopalians,  after  no  small  reluctance,  are 
compelled  at  last  to  admit  it.  They  are  driven  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  the  term  bishop,  in  the  New  Testament,  does  not  in 
a  single  instance,  designate  any  such  officer  as  now  claims 
exclusively  that  title.  Thus  Dr.  Onderdonk  says,  that  "  that 
name  (bishop)  is  there,  (i.e.  in  the  New  Testament)  given  to  the 
middle  order,  or  presbyters  }  and  ALL  that  we  read  in  the  New 
Testament  concerning  'bishops,'  (including  of  course  the  words 
'overseers'  and  'oversight,'  which  have  the  same  derivation,^)  is 
to  be  regarded  as  pertaining  to  that  middle  grade.  It  was  after 
the  apostolic  age  that  the  name  l  bishop'  was  taken  from  the 
second  order,  and  appropriated  to  the  first."  p.  12.  This 
admission  we  regard  as  of  inestimable  value.  So  we  believe; 
and  so  we  teach.  We  insist,  therefore,  that  the  name  bishop 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  245 

should  bo  restored  to  its  primitive  standing.  If  men  lay  claim 
to  a  higher  rank  than  is  properly  expressed  in  the  New  Testa 
ment  by  this  word,  we  insist  that  they  should  assume  the  name 
apostles.  As  they  regard  themselves  as  the  successors  of  the 
apostles;  as  they  claim  that  Timothy,  Titus,  Andronicus, 
Junia  were  called  fipostlcs,  why  should  not  the  same  be  re 
tained  ?  The  Christian  community  could  then  better  appre 
ciate  the  force  of  their  claims,  and  understand  the  nature 
of  the  argument.  We  venture  to  say,  that  if  the  name 
"  apostles"  were  assumed  by  those  who  claim  that  they  arc 
their  successors,  Episcopacy  would  be  soon  "  shorn  of  its 
beams,"  and  that  the  Christian  world  would  disabuse  itself 
of  the  belief  in  the  scriptural  authority  of  any  such  class  of 
men.  We  admit  that  if  "  the  tliiny  sought"  (p.  12)  were  to 
be  found  in  the  Scriptures,  we  would  not  engage  in  a  contro 
versy  about  the  mere  name.  But  we  maintain  that  the  fact 
here  conceded  is  strong  presumptive  proof  that  "  the  thing 
sought"  is  not  there.  The  name,  therefore,  is  to  be  given  up; 
that  is,  it  is  conceded  by  Episcopalians,  that  the  name  bishop 
does  not  anywhere  in  the  New  Testament  designate  any  such 
class  of  men  as  are  now  clothed  with  the  episcopal  office. 

"We  remark  now,  that  the  thing  itself  is  practically  aban 
doned  by  Episcopalians  themselves.  If  other  denominations 
can  be  true  churches,  (see  the  remark  on  p.  6,  that  the  Episco 
pal  claims  do  not  '•unchurch  all  non-Episcopal  denominations/') 
then  their  ministers  can  be  true  ministers,  and  their  ordi 
nances  valid  ordinances.  Their  minister  may  be  ordained 
ivitlwut  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  ua  bishop;"  and  thus 
the  whole  claim  is  abandoned.  For  what  constitutes  "  non- 
Episcopal  denominations"  churches,  unless  they  have  a  valid 
ministry,  and  valid  ordinances  ?  Still  further  :  It  is  probably 
known  to  our  readers,  that  even  ordination  is  never  performed 
in  the  Episcopal  Church  by  the  bishop  alone.  In  the  "  Form 
and  manner  of  Ordering  Priests,"  the  following  direction  is 

21* 


246  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

given:  (( The  bishop,  v:illi  tlic  priests  [presbyters]  -present, 
shall  lay  their  hands  severally  upon  the  head  of  every  one 
that  receiveth  the  order  of  priesthood  ]  the  receivers  humbly 
kneeling,  and  the  bishop  saying  :  Receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  for 
the  office  and  work  of  a  priest  in  the  church  of  God,  now  com 
mitted  unto  thee  by  the  imposition  of  OUR  hands/'  etc.  We 
know  that  there  is  among  them  a  difference  of  opinion  about 
the  reason  why  this  is  done.  One  portion  regard  the  bishop 
as  the  only  source  of  authority.*  The  other  suppose  that  the 
presence  and  act  of  the  presbyters  express  the  assent  and  con 
fidence  of  the  churches,  and  that  it  is  essential  to  a  valid  ordi 
nation.  But,  whichever  opinion  is  maintained,  it  is,  infacf, 
a  Presbyterian  ordination.  If  not,  it  is  an  unmeaning  and  idle 
ceremony;  and  the  presence  of  the  presbyters  is  mere  pa 
geantry  and  pomp. 

We  have  now  passed  through  the  argument.  Could  we 
enter  farther  into  it,  we  could  prove,  we  think,  positively, 
that  there  were  no  ministers  in  the  apostolic  churches  superior 
to  presbyters  "in  ministerial  powers  and  rights/'  and  that  a 
presbytery  did  actually  engage  in  an  ordination,  and  even  in 
the  case  of  Timothy.f  But  our  argument  does  not  require  it, 
nor  have  we  room.  We  have  examined  the  whole  of  the 
claims  of  Episcopalians,  derived  from  the  New  Testament. 
Our  readers  will  now  judge  of  the  validity  of  those  claims. 
We  close,  as  Dr.  Onderdonk  began,  by  saying,  that  if  the 
claim  is  not  made  out,  on  scriptural  authority,  it  has  no  force, 
or  binding  obligation  on  mankind. 

Who  can  resist  the  impression,  that  if  the  New  Testament 
had  been  the  only  authority  appealed  to  in  other  times,  Epis 
copacy  would  long  since  have  ceased  to  urge  its  claims,  and 
have  sunk  away  with  other  dynasties  and  dominations,  from 
the  notice  of  mankind?  On  the  basis  which  we  have  now 


*  Hooker's  Eccl.  Pol.,  book  vii.  §  6.  f  1  Tim.  iv.  14, 


EPISCOPACY    TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  247 

examined,  this  vast  superstructure ;  this  system  winch  has 
in  other  ages  spread  over  the  entire  Christian  world;  this  sys 
tem  which,  in  sonic  periods  at  least,  has  advanced  most  arro 
gant  claims,  has  been  reared.  The  world,  for  ages,  has  been 
called  to  submit  to  various  modifications  of  the  episcopal 
power.  The  world,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Wal- 
denses  and  Albigeuses,  did  for  ages  submit  to  its  authority. 
The  prelatical  domination  rose  on  the  ruins  of  the  liberties 
of  cities,  states,  and  nations,  till  all  the  power  of  the  Christian 
world  was  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  one  man — "  the  ser 
vant  of  the  servants  of  God!"  The  exercise  of  that  power  in 
his  hands  is  well  known.  Equally  arrogant  have  been  its 
claims,  in  other  modifications.  The  authority  has  been  deemed 
necessary  for  the  suppression  of  divisions  and  heresies.  "The 
prelates,"  says  Milton,  "as  they  would  have  it  thought,  are 
the  only  mauls  of  schism."  That  power  was  felt  in  the  days 
when  Puritan  piety  rose  to  bless  mankind,  and  to  advance 
just  notions  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Streams  of  blood 
have  flowed,  and  tears  of  anguish  have  been  shed,  and  thou 
sands  of  holy  men  have  been  doomed  to  poverty  and  want, 
and  imprisonment,  and  tears,  as  the  result  of  those  claims  to 
supremacy  and  validity  in  the  church  of  God.  It  may  sur 
prise  our  readers  to  learn,  that  all  the  authority  from  the 
Bible  which  could  be  adduced  in  favour  of  these  enormous 
claims  has  now  been  submitted  to  their  observation.  And  we 
cannot  repress  the  melancholy  emotions  of  our  hearts,  at  the 
thought  that  such  power  has  been  claimed,  and  such  domina 
tion  exercised  by  man,  on  so  slender  authority  as  this. 

We  have  little  love  for  controversy; — we  have  none  for  de 
nunciation.  We  have  no  war  to  wage  with  Episcopacy.  We 
know,  we  deeply  feel,  that  much  may  be  said  in  favour  of  it, 
apart  from  the  claim  which  has  been  set  up  for  its  authority 
from  the  New  Testament.  Its  past  history,  in  some  respects, 
makes  us  weep;  in  some  others,  it  is  the  source  of  sincere 


248  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

rejoicing  and  praise.  We  cannot  forget,  indeed,  its  assump 
tions  of  power,  or  hide  from  our  eyes  the  days  of  the  Papacy, 
when  it  clothed  in  sackcloth  the  Christian  world.  We  cannot 
forget  the  days,  not  few  or  unimportant,  in  its  history,  when 
even  as  a  part  of  the  Protestant  religion,  it  has  brought  "  a 
numb  and  chill  stupidity  of  soul,  an  inactive  blindness  of  mind 
upon  the  people,  by  its  leaden  doctrine '/'  we  cannot  forget 
11  the  frozen  captivity"  of  the  church,  u  in  the  bondage  of  pre 
lates;"*  nor  can  we  remove  from  our  remembrance  the  suffer 
ings  of  the  Puritans  and  the  bloody  scenes  in  Scotland.  But 
we  do  not  charge  this  on  the  Episcopacy  of  our  times.  We 
do  not  believe  that  it  is  essential  to  its  existence.  We  do  not 
believe  that  it  is  its  inevitable  tendency.  With  more  grateful 
feelings  we  recall  other  events  of  its  history.  We  associate  it 
with  the  brightest  and  happiest  days  of  religion,  and  liberty, 
and  literature,  and  law.  We  remember  that  it  was  under  the 
Episcopacy  that  the  church  in  England  took  its  firm  stand 
against  the  Papacy;  and  that  this  was  its  form  when  Zion 
rose  to  light  and  splendour  from  the  dark  night  of  ages.  We 
remember  the  name  of  Cranmer, — Cranmer  first,  in  many 
respects,  among  the  reformers ;  that  it  was  by  his  steady  and 
unerring  hand  that,  under  God,  the  pure  church  of  the  Saviour 
was  conducted  through  the  agitating  and  distressing  times  of 
Henry  VIII.  We  remember  that  God  watched  over  that  won 
derful  man ;  that  he  gave  this  distinguished  prelate  access  to 
the  heart  of  one  of  the  most  capricious,  cruel,  inexorable,  blood 
thirsty,  and  licentious  monarchs  that  has  disgraced  the  world ; 
that  God,  for  the  sake  of  Cranmer  and  his  church,  conducted 
Henry,  as  "  by  a  hook  in  the  nose,"  and  made  him  faithful 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  when  faithful  to  none  else ; 
so  that,  perhaps,  the  only  redeeming  trait  in  the  character  of 
Henry  is  his  fidelity  to  this  first  British  prelate  under  the 


*  Milton. 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  249 

Reformation.*  The  world  will  not  soon  forget  the  names  of 
Latimer,  and  llidley,  and  Rogers,  and  Bradford;  names 
associated  in  the  feelings  of  Christians,  with  the  long  list  of 
ancient  confessors  "of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy/'  and 
who  did  honour  to  entire  ages  of  mankind,  by  sealing  their 
attachment  to  the  Son  of  God,  on  the  rack  or  amid  the  flames. 
Nor  can  we  forget  that  we  owe  to  Episcopacy  that  which  fills 
our  minds  with  gratitude  and  praise,  when  we  look  for  exam 
ples  of  consecrated  talent,  and  elegant  literature,  and  humble, 
devoted  piety.  While  men  honour  elevated  Christian  feeling ; 
while  they  revere  sound  learning ;  while  they  render  tribute 
to  clear  and  profound  reasoning,  they  will  not  forget  the  names 
of  Barrow  and  Taylor,  of  Tillotson,  and  Hooker,  and  Butler ; 
— and  when  they  think  of  humble,  pure,  sweet,  heavenly 
piety,  their  minds  will  recur  instinctively  to  the  name  of 
Leigh  ton.  Such  names,  with  a  host  of  others,  do  honour  to 
the  world.  When  we  think  of  them,  we  have  it  not  in  our 
hearts  to  utter  one  word  against  a  church  which  has  thus  done 
honour  to  our  race,  and  to  our  common  Christianity. 

Such  we  wish  Episcopacy  still  to  be.  We  have  always 
thought  that  there  are  Christian  minds  and  hearts  that  would 
find  more  edification  in  the  forms  of  worship  in  that  church, 
than  in  any  other.  We  regard  it  as  adapted  to  call  forth 
Christian  energy  that  might  otherwise  be  dormant.  We  do 
not  grieve  that  the  church  is  divided  into  different  denomina 
tions.  To  all  who  hold  essential  truth  we  bid  God-speed; 

*  It  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  that  Cranmer  by  no  means  enter 
tained  the  modern  views  of  the  scriptural  authority  of  bishops.  He  would 
not  have  coincided  with  the  claims  of  the  tract  which  is  now  passing  under 
our  review.  He  maintained  "  that  the  appointment  to  spiritual  offices 
belongs  indifferently  to  bishops,  to  princes,  or  to  the  people,  according  to 
the  pressure  of  existing  circumstances.  He  affirmed  the  original  identity  of 
bishops  and  presbyters  j  and  contended  that  nothing  more  than  mere  elec 
tion,  or  appointment,  is  essential  to  the  sacerdotal  office,  without  consecra 
tion  or  nny  other  solemnity." — Le  Unit's  Life  of  Cranm-er,  vol.  i,.  p.  197. 


250  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

and  for  all  such  we  lift  our  humble  supplications  to  the  God 
of  all  mercy,  that  he  will  make  them  the  means  of  spreading 
the  gospel  around  the  globe.  We  ourselves  could  live  and 
labour  in  friendliness  and  love  in  the  bosom  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  While  we  have  an  honest  preference  for  another 
department  of  the  great  field  of  Christian  action ;  while  provi 
dential  circumstances,  and  the  suggestions  of  our  own  hearts 
and  minds,  have  conducted  us  to  a  different  field  of  labour,  we 
have  never  doubted  that  many  of  the  purest  flames  of  devotion 
that  rise  from  the  earth,  ascend  from  the  altars  of  the  Episco 
pal  Church,  and  that  many  of  the  purest  spirits  that  the  earth 
contains  minister  at  those  altars,  or  breathe  forth  their  prayers 
and  praises  in  language  consecrated  by  the  use  of  piety  for 
centuries. 

We  have  but  one  wish  in  regard  to  Episcopacy.  We  wish 
her  not  to  assume  arrogant  claims.  We  wish  her  not  to  utter 
the  language  of  denunciation.  We  wish  her  to  follow  the 
guidance  of  the  distinguished  minister  of  her  church,  whose 
book  we  are  reviewing,  in  not  attempting  to  "unchurch" 
other  denominations.  We  wish  her  to  fall  in  with,  or  to  go 
in  advance  of  others,  in  the  spirit  of  the  age.  Our  desire  is 
that  she  may  become  throughout — as  we  rejoice  she  is  increas 
ingly  becoming — the  warm,  devoted  friend  of  revivals  and 
missionary  operations.  She  is  consolidated  •  well  marshalled ; 
under  an  efficient  system  of  laws ;  and  pre-eminently  fitted  for 
powerful  action  in  the  field  of  Christian  warfare.  We  desire  to 
see  her  what  the  Macedonian  phalanx  was  in  the  ancient  army; 
with  her  dense,  solid  organization,  with  her  unity  of  move 
ment,  with  her  power  of  maintaining  the  position  which  she 
takes ;  and  with  her  eminent  ability  to  advance  the  cause  of 
sacred  learning,  and  the  love  of  order  and  of  law,  attending  or 
leading  all  other  churches  in  the  conquests  of  redemption  in 
an  alienated  world.  We  would  even  rejoice  to  see  her  who 
was  first  in  the  field  at  the  Reformation  in  England,  first,  also, 


EPISCOPACY   TESTED    BY    SCRIPTURE.  251 

in  the  field  when  the  Son  of  God  shall  come  to  take  to  him 
self  his  great  power ;  and,  whatever  positions  may  be  assigned 
to  other  denominations,  wo  have  no  doubt  that  the  Episcopal 
Church  is  destined  yet  to  be,  throughout,  the  warm  friend 
of  revivals,  and  to  consecrate  her  wealth  and  power  to  the 
work  of  making  a  perpetual  aggression  on  the  territories 
of  sin  and  of  death. 


252  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 


VI. — SCRIPTURAL  ARGUMENT  ON  THE  EPISCOPAL  CON 
TROVERSY. 

[CHRISTIAN  SPECTATOR,  1835.] 

Answer  to  a  Review  (in  the  Quarterly  Christian  Spectator) 
of  "Episcopacy  tested  by  Scripture:"  first  published  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopalian,  for  May,  1834.  Philadelphia  : 
Jesper  Harding;  1834.  pp.  19. 

WHEN  the  review  of  the  tract,  "  Episcopacy  tested  by 
Scripture/'  was  prepared,*  it  was  not  our  design  to  engage  in 
a  controversy  on  the  subject  there  discussed.  "We  well  knew 
how  unprofitable  and  how  endless  such  a  controversy  might 
become  ;  and  we  felt  that  we  had  more  important  business  to 
engage  our  attention,  than  that  of  endeavouring  to  defend  the 
external  order  of  the  church.  The  subject  attracted  our  notice, 
because,  on  two  different  occasions,  the  tract  which  was  the 
subject  of  the  review,  had  been  sent  to  us,  in  one  instance 
accompanied  with  a  polite  request — evidently  from  an  Episco 
palian — to  give  to  it  our  particular  attention ;  because,  too,  the 
tract  had  been  published  at  the  "  Episcopal  Press,"  and  it  was 
known  that  it  would  be  extensively  circulated ;  because  it  has 
been  the  subject  of  no  small  self-gratulation  among  the  Epis 
copalians,  and  had  been  suffered,  notwithstanding  the  manifest 
complacency  with  which  they  regarded  it,  to  lie  unanswered ; 
mainly,  because  it  made  an  appeal  at  once  to  the  Bible,  and 
professed  a  willingness  that  the  question  should  be  settled  by 
the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  alone.  This  appeared  to  us  to 
be  placing  the  subject  on  a  new  ground.  The  first  emotion 

Christian  Spectator,  vol.  vi. 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  25o 

produced  by  the  title  of  the  tract  was  one  of  surprise.  We 
had  been  so  accustomed  to  regard  this  controversy  as  one  that 
was  to  be  settled  solely  by  the  authority  of  the  Fathers ;  we 
had  been  so  disheartened  and  sickened  by  the  unprofitable 
nature,  the  interminable  duration,  and  the  want  of  fixed 
bounds  and  principles,  in  that  investigation  •  we  had  seen  so 
little  reference  made  to  the  Bible,  on  either  side  of  the  ques 
tion,  that  it  excited  in  us  no  small  degree  of  surprise  to  learn 
that  a  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  should  be  willing  to 
make  a  direct,  decisive,  and  unqualified  appeal  to  the  New 
Testament.  It  was  so  unusual  •  it  gave  so  new  a  direction  to 
the  controversy ;  it  promised  so  speedy  an  issue,  and  one  so 
little  auspicious  to  the  cause  which  the  bishop  was  engaged  in 
defending,  that  we  were  not  unwilling  to  turn  aside  from  our 
usual  engagements,  and  to  examine  the  proofs  adduced  in  this 
somewhat  novel  mode  of  the  Episcopal  controversy. 

Shortly  after  our  review  was  published,  an  "  Answer"  to 
the  article  appeared  in  the  "  Protestant  Episcopalian,"  under 
stood  to  come  from  the  author  of  the  tract.  With  a  copy  of 
this  the  writer  of  the  review  was  politely  furnished  by  Dr. 
Onderdonk.  The  "Answer"  is  marked  with  the  same  general 
characteristics  as  the  tract  itself.  It  evinces,  in  general,  the 
same  spirit  of  Christian  feeling  and  of  candid  inquiry;  the 
same  calm,  collected,  and  manly  style  of  argument ;  the  same 
familiarity  with  the  subject;  and  the  same  habit — by  no 
means  as  common  as  is  desirable — of  applying  the  principles 
of  the  inductive  philosophy  to  moral  subjects.  To  this  general 
statement,  perhaps,  should  be  made  a  slight  exception.  A 
candid  observer  possibly  would  discern  in  the  "  Answer," 
some  marks  of  haste,  and  some  indications  of  disturbed  repose 
— possibly  of  a  slight  sensation  in  perceiving  that  the  material 
point  of  the  argument  in  the  tract  had  not  been  as  strongly 
fortified  as  was  indispensable.  As  instances  of  this  sensa 
tion,  we  might  notice  the  train  of  remarks  in  pp.  8,  9,  and 

VOL.  T.  22 


254  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

especially  in  the  following  expressions :  "  The  reasonings 
throughout  his  article  (the  reviewer's)  are  much  the  same  as 
those  usually  brought  against  Episcopacy ;  and  where  they  are 
not  the  same,  they  are  so  much  minus  the  former  ground," 
etc.  "  No  one,  for  three  years,  brought  these  old  reasonings 
against  the  tract, — no  one  till  the  reviewer  fancied  he  had 
discovered  a  weak  spot  in  it,  and  might,  therefore,  reproduce 
some  of  them  with  effect."  li  The  present  is  only  a  start  in 
its  slumber."  And  again,  on  p.  15,  the  author  of  the  reply 
speaks  of  the  reviewer,  as  one  whom  he  suspects  "  to  be  a  n&io 
comer  into  this  field  of  controversy,"  if  not  with  the  intention, 
at  least  with  the  appearance,  of  designing  to  disparage  the 
force  of  the  arguments  which  the  reviewer  had  urged.  Now, 
it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  remind  Dr.  Onderdonk,  that  the 
inquiry  is  not,  whether  the  arguments  are  old  or  new,  but 
whether  they  are  pertinent  and  valid.  Nor  is  the  question, 
whether  one  is  a  "  new  comer"  into  this  controversy.  Argu 
ments  may  not  be  the  less  cogent  and  unanswerable,  for  being 
urged  by  one  who  has  not  before  entered  the  lists ;  nor  will 
arguments  from  the  Bible  be  satisfactorily  met  by  an  affirma 
tion  that  they  are  urged  by  one  unknown  in .  the  field  of 
debate.  It  may  be  proper,  however,  for  us  to  observe,  in 
self-vindication,  that  the  arguments  which  we  urged  were 
drawn  from  no  other  book  than  the  Bible.  The  "  Tract"  and 
the  New  Testament  were  the  only  books  before  us  in  the  pre 
paration  of  the  article.  The  course  of  argument  suggested 
was  that  only  which  was  produced  by  the  investigation  of  the 
Scriptures.  Whether  we  have  fallen  into  any  train  of  thinking 
which  has  been  before  urged  by  writers  on  this  subject,  we 
do  not  even  now  know,  nor  are  we  likely  to  know ;  as  it  is  our 
fixed  purpose  not  to  travel  out  of  the  record  before  us — the 
inspired  account  of  the  matter  in  the  sacred  Scriptures.  If, 
however,  the  arguments  which  we  have  urged  be  "  the  same 
as  those  usually  brought  against  Episcopacy,"  (p.  8,)  it  fur- 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY. 

nislics  a  case  of  coincidence  of  results,  in  investigating  the 
New  Testament,  which  is  itself  some  evidence  that  the  objec 
tions  to  Episcopacy  are  such  as  obviously  occur  to  different 
minds  engaged  in  independent  investigation. 

When  the  reply  appeared,  it  became  a  question  with  us, 
whether  the  controversy  should  be  prolonged.  A  perusal 
of  the  "  Answer"  did  not  suggest  any  necessity  for  departing 
from  our  original  intention,  not  to  engage  in  such  a  contro 
versy.  It  did  not  appear  to  furnish  any  new  argument  which 
seemed  to  call  for  notice,  or  to  invalidate  any  of  the  positions 
defended  in  the  review.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  (( Answer" 
appeared  to  be  simply  an  expansion  of  a  note  in  the  tract, 
(p.  12,  note  2,)  which,  when  the  review  was  prepared,  seemed 
riot  to  furnish  an  argument  that  required  particular  attention. 
The  fact,  too,  that  then  the  argument  was  expressed  in  a  note, 
in  small  type,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  was  an  indica 
tion  that  it  was  not  of  much  magnitude  in  the  eye  of  the 
author  of  the  tract  himself.  Why  it  is  now  expanded,  so  as 
to  constitute  the  very  body  and  essence  of  the  reply,  is  to  us 
proof  that  the  subject,  on  the  Episcopal  side,  is  exhausted. 
This  fact  is  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  impress  the  mind  strongly 
with  the  belief  that,  henceforth,  nothing  remains  to  be  added, 
in  the  eifort  to  "  Test  Episcopacy  by  Scripture." 

In  departing  from  our  original  purpose,  it  is  our  wish  to 
reciprocate  the  kind  feeling  and  candour  of  the  author  of  the 
"Tract"  and  of  the  "Answer."  Truth,  not  victory,  is  our 
object.  We  have  but  one  wish  on  this  subject.  It  is,  that 
the  principles  upon  which  God  designed  to  establish  and 
govern  his  holy  church,  may  be  developed  and  understood. 
We  resume  the  subject  with  profound  and  undiminished  re 
spect  for  the  talents,  the  piety,  and  the  learning  of  the  author 
of  the  Tract  and  Answer,  and  with  a  purpose  that  this  shall 
be  final,  on  our  part,  unless  something  new,  and  vital  to  the 
subject,  shall  be  added.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  all  other 


256  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

things,  our  desire  is  not  to  write  one  line,  which,  dying, — or 
in  heaven, — 

"  We  would  wish  to  blot." 

Still,  this  desire,  so  deeply  cherished,  does  not  forbid  a  full 
and  free  examination  of  arguments.  Our  conscientious  belief 
is,  that  the  superiority  "in  ministerial  power  and  rights/7 
(Tract,  p.  15,)  claimed  by  Episcopal  bishops,  is  a  superiority 
known  in  the  Episcopal  churches  only,  and  not  in  the  New 
Testament ;  and  this  we  purpose  to  show. 

In  entering  upon  our  examination  of  the  u  Answer,"  we 
may  remark,  that  the  scriptural  argument  for  Episcopacy  is 
now  fairly  and  entirely  before  the  world.  On  the  Episcopal 
side,  nothing  material  to  be  said  can  remain.  The  v:lwle 
argument  is  in  the  Tract  and  in  the  Answer.  If  Episcopacy 
is  not  established  in  these,  we  may  infer  that  it  is  not 
in  the  Bible.  If  not  in  the  Bible,  it  is  not  "  necessarily 
binding."  (Tract,  p.  3.)  To  this  conclusion — that  the  whole 
of  the  material  part  of  the  scriptural  argument  is  before  the 
world  in  these  pamphlets — we  are  conducted  by  the  fact,  that 
neither  talent,  learning,  zeal,  nor  time,  have  been  wanting  in 
order  to  present  it ;  that  their  author  entered  on  the  discus 
sion,  manifestly  acquainted  with  all  that  was  to  be  said ;  that 
the  subject  has  now  been  before  the  public  more  than  four 
years,  (see  advertisement  to  the  Tract ;)  and  that,  during  that 
time,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  if  there  had  been  any  more  mate 
rial  statements  to  be  presented  from  the  Bible,  they  would 
have  appeared  in  the  "  Answer."  There  is  much  advantage 
in  examining  an  argument  with  the  conviction  that  nothing 
more  remains  to  be  said;  and  that  we  may,  therefore, 
contemplate  it  as  an  unbroken  and  unimprovable  whole, 
without  the  possibility  of  any  addition  to  the  number  of 
arguments,  or  increase  of  their  strength.  On  this  vantage- 
ground  we  now  stand,  to  contemplate  the  argument  in 


THE    EPISCOPAL   CONTROVERSY.  257 

support   of    the    stupendous    fabric    of    Episcopacy    in    the 
Christian  church. 

In  entering  upon  this  examination,  we  are  struck  with — 
what  we  had  indeed  anticipated — a  very  strong  inclination,  on 
the  part  of  the  author  of  the  tract,  to  appeal  again  to  certain 
"  extraneous"  authorities,  of  which  we  heard  nothing  in  the 
tract  itself,  except  to  disclaim  them.  The  tract  commenced 
with  the  bold  and  startling  announcement,  that  if  Episcopacy 
has  not  the  authority  of  Scripture,  it  is  not  "necessarily 
binding,"  p.  3.  "  No  argument,"  the  tract  goes  on  to  say, 
"  is  worth  taking  into  the  account,  that  has  not  a  palpable 
bearing  on  the  clear  and  naked  topic — the  scriptural  evidence 
of  Episcopacy,"  p.  3.  We  have  italicised  part  of  this  quota 
tion,  to  call  the  attention  of  our  readers  particularly  to  it. 
The  affirmation,  so  unusual  in  the  mouth  of  an  Episcopalian, 
is,  that  no  argument  is  WORTH  TAKING  INTO  THE  ACCOUNT, 
that  does  not  bear  on  the  scriptural  proof.  Now  we  antici 
pated  that,  if  a  reply  was  made  to  our  review,  from  any  quar 
ter,  we  should  find  a  qualification  of  this  statement,  and  a 
much  more  complacent  regard  shown  to  the  Fathers,  and  to 
other  "  extraneous  considerations,"  (Tract,  p.  4,)  than  would 
be  consistent  with  this  unqualified  disclaimer  in  the  tract. 
The  truth  is,  that  the  Fathers  are  regarded  as  too  material 
witnesses  to  be  so  readily  abandoned.  The  "  tradition  of  the 
elders"  has  been  too  long  pressed  into  the  service  of  Episco 
pacy  ;  there  has  been  too  conscious  a  sense  of  the  weakness 
of  scriptural  proof,  to  renounce  heartily,  entirely,  and  forever, 
all  reliance  on  other  proof  than  the  New  Testament.  The 
"Answer"  would  have  lacked  a  very  material  feature  which  we 
expected  to  find  in  it,  if  there  had  been  no  inclination  mani 
fested  to  plunge  into  this  abyss  of  traditional  history,  where 
light  and  darkness  struggle  together,  and  no  wish  to  recall 
the  testimony  of  uninspired  antiquity  to  the  service  of 
prelacy.  Accordingly,  we  were  prepared  for  the  following 


258  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

declaration,  which  we  quote  entire,  from  pp.  3  and  4  of  the 
Answer : — 

"Because  the  author  of  the  tract  rested  the  claims  of  Episco 
pacy  finally  on  Scripture, — because  he  fills  a  high  office  in  the 
church, — and  because  the  tract  is  issued  by  so  prominent  an  Epis 
copal  institution  as  the  '  Press,'  the  reviewer  seems  to  think  that 
Episcopalians  are  now  to  abandon  all  arguments  not  drawn  di 
rectly  from  the  Holy  Volume.  Not  at  all.  The  author  of  the  tract, 
in  his  sermon  at  the  consecration  of  the  four  bishops,  in  October, 
1832,  advocated  Episcopacy,  besides  on  other  grounds,  on  that  of 
there  being  several  grades  of  office  in  the  priesthoods  of  all  reli 
gions,  false  as  well  as  true,  and  in  all  civil  magistracies  and  other 
official  structures, — and,  in  his  late  Charge,  he  adverted  to  the 
evidence  in  its  favour  contained  in  the  Fathers.  And  the  'Press,' 
at  the  time  it  issued  the  tract,  issued  also  with  it,  in  the  '  Works 
on  Episcopacy,'  those  of  Dr.  Bowden  and  Dr.  Cooke,  which  embrace 
the  argument  at  large.  There  is  no  reason,  therefore,  for  think 
ing  that,  however  a  single  writer  may  use  selected  arguments  in  a 
single  publication,  either  he  or  other  Episcopalians  will  (or  should) 
narrow  the  ground  they  have  usually  occupied.  The  Fathers  are 
consulted  on  this  subject,  because  the  fabric  of  the  ministry  which 
they  describe  forms  an  historical  basis  for  interpreting  Scripture. 
And  general  practice,  in  regard  to  distinct  grades  among  officers, 
throws  a  heavier  burden  of  disproof  on  those  whose  interpreta 
tions  are  adverse  to  Episcopacy :  this  latter  topic  we  shall  again 
notice  before  we  close." 

This  passage,  so  far  from  insisting,  as  the  Tract  had  done, 
that  no  argument  ivas  worth  taking  into  the  account,  except 
the  scriptural  proof,  refers  distinctly  to  the  following  points, 
which  we  beg' leave  to  call  "extraneous  considerations,"  as 
proof  of  Episcopacy.  (1.)  The  fact  that  there  "arc  several 
grades  of  office  in  the  priesthood  of  all  religions;"  (2.)  That 
the  same  thing  occurs  "  in  all  civil  magistracies  and  other 
official  structures;"  (3.)  The  evidence  of  the  Fathers;  and, 
(4.)  "  Other  grounds,"  which  the  author  informs  us  he  had 
insisted  on,  in  an  ordination  sermon,  in  1832.  And  in  this 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  259 

very  passage,  he  makes  the  following  remarkable  statement, 
which  we  propose  soon  to  notice  further :  "  The  fathers  are 
consulted  on  the  subject,  because  the  fabric  of  the  ministry 
which  they  describe,  forms  an  historical  basis  for  interpreting 
Scripture." 

Slight  circumstances  often  show  strong  inclinations  and 
habits  of  mind.  How  strong  a  hold  this  reference  to  other 
£>  considerations"  than  the  Scriptures,  has  taken  upon  the 
mind  of  the  author  of  the  Tract,  and  how  reluctant  he  was  to 
part  with  the  u  extraneous"  argument  from  the  Fathers,  is 
shown  by  the  fact,  that  he  again  recurs  to  it  in  the  "Answer," 
and  presents  it  at  much  greater  length.  Thus  on  pp.  IS,  19, 
at  the  very  close  of  the  Answer,  we  are  presented  with  the 
following  recurrence  to  the  argument  from  other  considera 
tions  than  the  Scriptures  : 

"  One  word  more  concerning  the  '  burden  of  proof,'  as  contrasted 
with  the  'presumptive  argument.'  The  tract  claimed  no  presump 
tion  in  its  favour,  in  seeking  for  the  scriptural  proofs  of  Episco 
pacy.  We  do — a  presumption  founded  on  common  sense,  as  indi 
cated  by  common  practice.  Set  aside  parity  and  Episcopacy,  and 
then  look  at  other  systems  of  office,  both  religious  and  civil,  and 
you  find  several  grades  of  officers.  In  the  Patriarchal  church,  there 
was  the  distinction  of  '  high-priest'  and  '  priest.'  In  the  Jewish 
church,  (common  sense  being,  in  this  case  unquestionably,  divinely 
approved,)  there  were  the  high-priest,  priests,  and  levites.  Among 
the  Pagans  and  Mohammedans,  there  are  various  grades  in  the  office 
deemed  sacred.  Civil  governments  have  usually  governors,  a  pre 
sident,  princes,  a  king,  an  emperor,  etc.,  as  the  heads  of  the  ge 
neral,  or  state,  or  provincial  magistracies.  In  armies  and  navies 
there  is  always  a  chief.  If  the  reviewer  should  claim  exceptions, 
we  reply  they  are  exceptions  only,  and  very  few  in  number.  The 
general  rule  is  \vith  \is.  That  general  rule,  next  to  universal,  is, 
that,  among  officers,  there  is  a  difference  of  power,  of  rights,  of 
rank,  of  grade,  call  it  what  you  will.  And  this  general  rule  gives 
a  presumption  that  such  will  also  be  the  case  in  the  Christian 
church.  We  go  to  Scripture,  then,  with  the  presumptive  argu- 


260  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

ment  fully  against  parity.  If  we  should  find  in  Scripture  neither 
imparity  nor  parity,  still  common  sense  decides  for  the  former.  If 
we  find  the  tone  of  Scripture  doubtful,  on  this  point,  imparity 
has  the  advantage,  common  sense  turning  the  scale.  If  we  find 
there  intimations,  less  than  positive  injunctions,  in  favour  of  im 
parity,  common  sense,  besides  the  respect  due  to  Scripture,  de 
cides  for  our  interpretation  of  them.  And  if  any  thing  in  Scripture 
is  supposed  to  prove  or  to  justify  parity,  it  must  be  very  explicit, 
to  overturn  the  suggestion  of  common  sense.  The  '  presumptive 
argument,'  then,  is  clearly  with  us,  and  the  '  burden  of  proof  lies 
on  parity.  Let  the  reviewer  peruse  the  tract  again,  bearing  in 
mind  the  principles  laid  down  in  this  paragraph,  and  he  will,  we 
trust,  think  better  of  it." 

These  observations,  it  will  be  remembered,  are  made  by  the 
same  writer,  and  in  connection  with  the  same  subject  as  the 
declaration,  that  "  NO  ARGUMENT  is  WORTH  TAKING  INTO 
THE  ACCOUNT,  that  lias  not  a  palpable  bearing  on  the  dear 
and  naked  topics—the  scriptural  evidence  of  Episcopacy." 

Now,  against  the  principles  of  interpretation  here  stated, 
and  which  the  Tract  led  us  to  suppose  were  abandoned,  we 
enter  our  decided  and  solemn  protest.  The  question — the 
only  question  in  the  case — is,  Whether  Episcopacy  "has  the 
authority  of  Scripture  ?77  (Tract,  p.  3.)  The  affirmation  is, 
that  if  it  has  not,  "it  is  not  necessarily  binding,'7  (p.  3.)  The 
principle  of  interpretation,  which  in  the  Answer  is  introduced 
to  guide  us  in  this  inquiry,  is,  that  "the  Fathers  are  con 
sulted  on  the  subject,  because  the  fabric  of  the  ministry  which 
they  describe,  forms  an  historical  basis  for  interpreting  Scrip 
ture/7  (Answer,  p.  3.)  In  order  to  understand  the  bearing 
of  this  rule  of  interpretation,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what  it 
means.  A  "basis'7  is  defined  to  be  "the  foundation  of  a 
thing ;  that  on  which  a  thing  stands  or  lies ;  that  on  which  it 
rests;  the  ground-work  or  first  principle;  that  which  sup 
ports."  (Webster.)  An  "historical  basis'7  must  mean,  there 
fore,  that  the  opinions  or  facts  of  history — that  is,  in  this 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  2G1 

case,  the  testimony  of  the  Fathers — constitute  the  foundation, 
the  ground-worJc,  or  first  principle  of  the  intepretation  of  the 
Bible ;  or  that  on  which  such  an  interpretation  rests,  or  by 
which  it  is  supported.  It  would  seem  to  follow,  therefore, 
that,  unless  we  first  become  acquainted  with  this  "  historical 
basis,"  we  are  wholly  in  the  dark  about  the  proper  interpreta 
tion  of  the  Bible,  and  that  our  interpretation  is  destitute  of 
any  true  support  and  authority.  To  this  principle  of  inter 
pretation,  in  this  case  and  in  all  others,  the  objections  are 
obvious  and  numerous  :  (1.)  Our  first  objection  lies  against 
the  supposed  necessity  of  having  any  such  previously  ascer 
tained  basis,  in  order  to  a  just  interpretation  of  the  oracles 
of  God.  We  object  wholly  to  the  doctrine  that  the  Scriptures 
arc  to  be  interpreted  by  historical  facts  to  be  developed  long 
after  the  book  was  written.  The  great  mass  of  men  are 
wholly  incompetent  to  enter  into  any  such  (C  historical" 
inquiry ;  but  the  great  mass  of  men  are  not  unqualified  to 
understand  the  general  drift  and  tenor  of  the  New  Testament. 
(2.)  The  statement  is,  "that  the  fabric  of  the  ministry  which 
they  describe"  is  to  be  the  basis  of  such  interpretation.  But 
who  knows  what  the  fabric  of  the  ministry  which  they  de 
scribe  is  ?  It  is  to  be  remembered,  that  the  question  is  not 
respecting  the  ministry  in  the  fourth  century  and  onward. 
But  the  inquiry — and  the  only  one  of  material  value  on  any 
supposition — pertains  to  the  Fathers  previous  to  that  period. 
And  there  every  thing  is  unsettled.  Prelacy  claims  the  Fa 
thers  in  that  unknown  age.  The  Papacy  claims  the  Fathers 
there.  Presbyterianism  claims  the  Fathers  there.  Congregation 
alism  and  Independency,  too,  claim  them  there.  Every  thing 
is  unsettled  and  chaotic.  And  this  is  the  very  point  which 
has  been  the  interminable  subject  of  contention  in  this  whole 
inquiry,  and  from  which  we  hoped  we  had  escaped,  by  the 
principles  laid  down  in  the  Tract.  Yet  the  position  now 
advanced  would  lead  us  again  into  all  the  difficulties,  and 


262  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

controversies,  and  jostling  elements,  and  contradictory  state 
ments  which  have  always  attended  the  appeal  to  the  Fathers. 
If  we  are  to  wait  until  we  have  ascertained  "  the  fabric  of  the 
ministry"  which  these  Fathers  describe,  before  we  have  a 
''basis"  for  interpreting  Scripture,  we  may  close  the  New 
Testament  in  despair.  (3.)  This  canon  of  interpretation  is 
contrary  to  the  rule  which  Dr.  Onderdonk  has  himself  laid 
down  in  the  Tract  itself,  (p.  3.)  In  that  instance,  the  au 
thority  of  the  Scriptures  was  declared  to  be  ample  and  final. 
And  throughout  the  Tract,  there  is  a  manifest  indication  of  a 
belief,  that  the  Bible  is  susceptible  of  interpretation  on  the 
acknowledged  rules  of  language,  and  the  principles  of  common 
sense.  We  hailed  such  a  manifestation,  not  only  as  auspi 
cious  to  the  cause  of  truth  in  regard  to  the  claims  of  Episco 
pacy,  but  because  it  evinced  the  spirit  to  which  the  church 
must  come, — of  a  direct,  unqualified,  and  final  appeal  to  the 
word  of  God, — to  determine  religious  doctrine.  To  that 
standard  we  mean  to  adhere.  And,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  we 
intend  to  hold  it  up  to  the  view  of  men,  and  to  insist  on  the 
great  truth,  from  which  nothing  shall  ever  divert  us,  and  from 
which  we  fervently  pray  the  church  may  never  be  diverted, 
that  we  are  not  to  look  for  the  discovery  of  truth,  by  ascer 
taining  first  an  "  historical  basis/'  or  a  set  of  instruments  by 
which  we  are  to  measure  and  adjust  the  proportions  of  truth 
which  we  find  in  the  revelation  of  God.  Without  any  design 
to  disparage  or  undervalue  the  Fathers,  whom  we  sincerely 
reverence,  as  having  been  holy,  bold,  and  venerable  men ; 
without  any  blindness,  as  we  believe,  to  the  living  lustre  of 
that  piety  which  led  many  of  them  to  the  stake;  without  any 
apprehension  that  their  testimony,  when  examined,  would  be 
found  to  be  on  the  side  of  Episcopacy, — for  it  remains  yet 
to  be  seen  that  the  Fathers  of  the  first  two  centuries  ever 
dreamed  of  the  pride  and  domination  which  subsequently 
crept  into  the  church,  and  assumed  the  form  of  Prelacy  and 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  263 

Popery;  without  any  tiling  to  influence  us,  so  far  as  we  know, 
from  any  of  these  "  extraneous"  sources,  we  intend  to  do  all 
in  our  power  to  extend  and  perpetuate  the  doctrine  that  the 
ultimate  appeal  in  all  religious  inquiry,  is  to  be  the  Bible,  and 
the  Bible  only.  "The  Bible/'  said  Chillingworth,  "is  the 
religion  of  Protestants/'  We  rejoice  to  hear  this  sentiment 
echoed  from  the  assistant  bishop  of  Pennsylvania.  And, 
without  meaning  to  insinuate  that  this  sentiment  is  not  as 
honestly  acted  on  by  Episcopalians  as  by  any  other  denomina 
tion  of  Christians,  we  may  add,  that  we  deem  the  first  sen 
tence  of  the  Tract  worthy  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold  on 
the  posts  of  every  Episcopal  sanctuary,  and  over  every  altar, 
and  on  the  cover  of  every  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  "  The 
claim  of  Episcopacy  to  be  of  divine  institution,  and,  there 
fore,  obligatory  on  the  church,  rests  fundamentally  on  the  one 
question, — Has  it  the  authority  of  Scripture  ?  If  it  has  not, 
it  is  not  necessarily  binding."  (4.)  Our  fourth  objection  to 
this  rule  of  interpretation  is,  that  it  is,  substantially,  that  on 
which  rests  the  Papal  hierarchy.  We  do  not  know  that  the 
Papist  would  wish  to  express  his  principles  of  interpretation 
in  stronger  language  than  that  "  the  Fathers  are  consulted 
on  this  subject,, because  the  fabric  of  the  ministry  which  they 
describe  forms  an  historical  basis  for  interpreting  Scripture." 
To  us  it  seems  that  it  would  express  all  that  they  ask;  and, 
as  we  doubt  not  that  Dr.  Onderdonk  would  shrink  from  any 
approximation  to  the  Papacy  quite  as  firmly  as  ourselves,  we 
deem  it  necessary  merely  to  suggest  the  consideration,  to  render 
the  objection  at  once  satisfactory  to  his  own  mind. 

We  object,  also,  to  the  principle  of  interpretation  advanced 
on  p.  18  of  the  Answer,  which  we  have  already  quoted.  The 
fact  there  assumed,  is,  that  various  orders  of  men  are  observ 
able  in  civil  governments,  etc.;  and  hence,  that  there  is  pre 
sumptive  evidence  that  such  orders  arc  to  be  found  in  the 
Scriptures.  We  are  not  ignorant  of  the  purpose  for  which 


264  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

this  fact  is  adduced.  It  is  to  show  that  the  "burden  of  proof " 
does  not  lie  so  entirely  on  the  Episcopalian,  as  we  had  affirmed 
in  the  review.  We  admit,  to  some  extent,  the  modifying 
force  of  the  circumstances,  so  far  as  the  "  burden  of  proof"  is 
concerned.  But  it  merely  lightens  the  burden;  it  does  not 
remove  it.  Presumption,  in  such  a  case,  is  not  proof.  When 
the  fact  affirmed  relates  to  a  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  say  that  that  fact  occurred  elsewhere,  and,  there 
fore,  it  must  occur  in  the  Bible.  It  is  still  the  business  of 
the  Episcopalian  to  prove  his  affirmation  from  the  New  Testa 
ment  itself,  that  bishops  are  superior  to  other  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  in  ministerial  power  and  rights.  This  is  his  affirma 
tion  ;  this  is  the  point  which  he  urges ;  this  is  to  be  made 
out  from  the  Bible  only ;  and  assuredly  the  fact  that  there  are 
dukes,  and  earls,  and  emperors,  and  admirals,  and  nabobs, 
forms  at  best  a  very  slight  presumption  in  favour  of  the 
affirmation,  that  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  consists  of 
three  "  orders."  But  our  objections  may  be  further  stated. 
So  far  as  the  presumption  goes^  it  is  not  particularly  in 
favour  of  Episcopacy,  as  consisting  in  THREE  orders  of  the 
clergy.  For,  (1.)  The  fact  is  not,  that  there  are  three  orders 
observable  everywhere.  It  is,  that  there  are  nmny  orders  and 
ranks  of  civil  officers  and  of  men.  (2.)  The  presumption 
drawn  from  what  has  taken  place,  would  be  rather  in  favour  of 
despotism,  and  the  Papacy.  (3.)  The  presumption  is  equally 
met  by  the  doctrine  of  Presbyterianism  as  by  Prelacy.  Pres 
byterians  hold  equally  to  a  division  of  their  community  into 
various  ranks, — into  bishops,  and  elders,  and  people.  The 
presumption,  drawn  from  the  fact  that  civil  society  is  thus 
broken  up,  is  as  really  in  their  favour,  as  in  favour  of  Episco 
pacy.  (4.)  The  Congregationalist  may  urge  it  with  the  same 
propriety.  His  community  registers  the  names  of  his  minis 
ter,  and  deacons,  and  church,  and  congregation, — each  with 
distinct  privileges  and  rights.  If  Dr.  Onderdonk  should 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY  265 

reply  to  this,  that  his  remark  referred  only  to  the  disttnctron 
of  "  systems  of  office,  both  religious  and  civil/'  (p.  1S;)  and 
li  that  among  officers,  there  is  a  difference  of  power  and 
rights,"  (p.  19,)  we  reply,  that  the  distinction  of  officers  pertains 
to  other  churches,  as  well  as  the  Episcopal.  No  non-Episco 
palian,  perhaps,  can  be  found  who  holds  to  a  parity  of  office. 
He  will  refer,  at  once,  to  his  minister,  to  his  elders,  to  his 
deacons,  as  evincing  sufficient  disparity,  to  meet  the  full  force 
of  the  presumption  alleged  by  Dr.  Onderdonk.  But  our  main 
objection  here,  as  before,  is  to  the  principle  of  interpretation. 
We  respectfully  insist  that  it  should  be  laid  aside,  as  an  "  ex 
traneous  consideration"  in  the  inquiry  whether  Episcopacy 
"  has  the  authority  of  Scripture." 

In  our  review  we  stated  that  the  burden  of  proof,  in  this 
inquiry,  was  laid  wholly  on  the  friends  of  Episcopacy,  (p.  209.) 
This  point  was  so  obvious,  that  we  did  not  think  it  necessary 
to  illustrate  it  at  length.  Nor  do  we  now  intend  to  do  more 
than  merely,  by  adverting  to  it,  to  recall  it  to  the  attention  of 
our  readers.  The  author  of  the  "  Answer"  has  endeavoured 
to  remove  this  burden  from  himself  and  his  friends,  (p.  4  and 
p.  18.)  This  he  has  done,  by  attempting  to  show  that  there 
is  a  presumptive  argument  in  favour  of  Episcopacy ;  which 
presumption  throws  the  task  of  pro  vine/  the  parity  of  the 
clergy  on  those  who  advocate  it.  Now  we  are  not  disposed  to 
enter  into  a  controversy  on  this  point.  To  us  it  seemed,  and 
still  seems,  to  be  a  plain  case,  that  where  it  was  affirmed  that 
the  clergy  of  the  Christian  church  was  separated  by  divine 
authority,  into  three  grades,  or  orders,  and  that  one  of  those 
orders  had  the  exclusive  right  of  ordination,  of  discipline,  and 
of  general  superintendence ;  it  could  not  be  a  matter  requiring 
much  deliberation,  to  know  where  rested  the  burden  of  proof. 
If  a  man  assumes  authority  over  an  army,  demanding  the 
subordination  of  all  other  officers  to  his  will,  it  is  not  a  very 
unreasonable  presumption  that  the  burden  of  proof  lies  with 

VOL.  I.. 


266  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

him  •  nor  would  it  be  the  obvious  course  to  expect  the  entire 
mass  of  officers  to  show,  that  he  had  not  received  such  a  com 
mission.  We  shall,  therefore,  feel  ourselves  to  be  pursuing  a 
very  obvious  course,  if  we  do  not  recognise  the  authority  of 
Episcopal  bishops,  unless  there  is  proof  positive  of  their  com 
mission.  We  may  add,  further,  that  in  the  supposed  case 
of  the  commander  of  the  army  or  the  navy,  we  should  not 
regard  that  as  a  very  satisfactory  proof  which  was  pursued 
with  as  little  directness  and  explicitness  as  are  evinced  in  the 
argument  to  establish  the  original  domination  and  perpetuity 
of  the  prelatical  office.  And  in  this  connection  we  may  re 
mark,  that  it  is  perfectly  immaterial,  as  to  the  main  point, 
what  may  be  the  opinion  of  the  man  who  calls  the  claim  in 
question,  or  what  may  be  the  particular  denomination  to 
which  he  is  attached.  Whether  he  is  an  Independent,  a  Pres 
byterian,  or  a  Congregationalist,  it  may  be  equally  true  that 
the  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  is  unable  to  make  out  his 
claims  from  the  New  Testament.  The  only  material  point,  in 
which  all  other  denominations  are  agreed,  is,  that  the  minis 
ters  of  the  New  Testament  are  on  an  equality  in  the  respect 
under  consideration ;  that  the  power  of  ordaining  and  admi 
nistering  discipline,  and  of  superintending  the  concerns  of  the 
church,  is  intrusted  to  them,  as  equals,  in  opposition  to  the 
exclusive  and  exalted  assumptions  of  a  few  who  claim  the 
right  to  deprive  them  of  these  powers,  and  to  make  their 
ministrations  null  and  void.  And  when  claims  of  this  order 
are  advanced — claims  designed  to  dispossess  the  great  mass  of 
the  ministry  throughout  the  world,  of  the  right  of  transmitting 
their  office  to  others;  of  exercising  government  and  discipline 
in  their  own  pastoral  charges;  of  superintending  and  con 
trolling  the  affairs  of  the  particular  portion  of  the  church 
universal  with  which  they  are  specifically  intrusted ;  when 
claims  like  these  are  presented,  tending  to  degrade  them  from 
their  office,  to  annihilate  their  authority,  and  to  leave  their 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  267 

charges  without  a  ministry; — we  may  respectfully  insist  that 
the  proof  of  this  should  be  drawn,  by  no  circumlocution,  from 
the  Bible.  We  wish  to  see,  with  an  exact  specification,  the 
chapter  and  the  verse  •  we  would  respectfully  urge  that,  in 
such  a  claim,  it  should  be  done  tot  idem  vcrbisj  or  at  least  so 
nearly  so  that  there  could  be  no  possibility  of  mistake. 

We  may  here  remind  our  readers  of  the  precise  points 
which  Episcopacy  is  called  upon  to  make  out.  The  first  is, 
that  the  apostles  were  "  distinguished  from  the  elders,  because 
they  were  superior  to  them  in  ministerial  power  and  rights." 
(Tract,  p.  15.)  The  second  is,  that  this  distinction  "was  so 
persevered  in,  as  to  indicate  that  it  was  a  permanent  arrange 
ment/7  (Tract,  p.  23.)  These  are  independent  propositions. 
One  by  no  means  follows  from  the  other.  Should  the  first  be 
admitted,  yet  the  second  is  to  be  established  by  equally  expli 
cit  and  independent  proof.  Nay,  the  second  is  by  far  the 
most  material  point,  and  should,  as  we  shall  show,  be  fortified 
by  the  most  irrefragable  arguments.  The  third  point,  indis 
pensable  to  the  other  two,  is,  that  there  is  no  evidence  in  the 
New  Testament  that  presbyters  or  elders  discharged  the  func 
tions  which  are  now  claimed  for  bishops ;  that  is,  that  they 
either  (1)  ordained,  or  (2)  administered  discipline,  or  (3)  ex 
ercised  a  general  supervision.  (Tract,  p.  11.)  Unless,  then, 
it  is  shown  that  not  one  of  these  functions  was  ever  performed 
by  presbyters,  the  Episcopal  claim  fails  of  support,  and  must 
be  abandoned.  These  are  independent  positions,  and  a  failure 
in  one  is  a  failure  in  the  whole. 

To  a  cursory  review  of  what  can  be  said  on  these  points,  we 
now  propose  to  call  the  attention  of  our  readers. 

The  first  claim  asserted  is,  that  the  apostles  were  (( dis 
tinguished  from  the  elders,  because  they  were  superior  to 
them  in  ministerial  power  and  rights. "  (Tract,  p.  15.)  The 
points  of  their  alleged  superiority  are,  exclusive  ordination, 
exclusive  discipline,  exclusive  confirmation,  and  exclusive 


268  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

right  of  general  superintendence.  The  question  is,  whether 
this  is  the  nature  of  the  superiority  with  which,  the  apostles 
were  intrusted ;  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  Were  these  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  set  apart  to  the  apostolic  office, 
and  for  which  they  icere  called  apostles  f  Dr.  Onderdonk 
affirms  it ;  we  take  the  liberty,  most  respectfully,  of  calling 
for  explicit  proof  of  it  from  the  New  Testament. 

His  direct  proof  is  contained  in  a  nutshell.  It  consists  of 
one  expression  of  Scripture,  (Acts  xv.  2,  4,  6,  22  ;  xvi.  4  :) 
"Apostles  and  elders,"  "apostles,  an  d  elders,  and  brethren  ;" 
and  a  note  on  p.  12  of  the  Tract,  and  in  the  reply,  expanded  to 
more  than  two  pages,  showing  that,  in  his  apprehension,  they 
administered  discipline.  As  this  is  the  basis  on  which  the 
whole  fabric  is  reared,  and  as  it  embraces  the  very  gist  of  the 
"  Answer,"  we  shall  be  pardoned  for  adverting  to  it  with 
some  particularity. 

We  may  then  inquire,  why  the  apostles  were  distinguished 
from  the  elders  or  presbyters.  Dr.  Onderdonk  affirms  that 
it  was  because  they  were  "  superior  in  ministerial  power  and 
rights."  The  argument  on  this  subject,  from  the  New  Testa 
ment,  is,  that  the  two  classes  of  men  are  distinguished  from 
each  other,  (Acts  xv.  2,  4,  6,  22 ;  xvi.  4,)  by  the  following 
expressions:  "apostles  and  elders,"  "apostles,  and  elders, 
and  brethren."  Now,  in  regard  to  this  proof,  we  beg  leave 
to  make  the  following  remarks  : 

(1.)  That  it  is  the  only  direct  passage  of  Scripture  which 
Dr.  Onderdonk  is  able  to  adduce  on  the  subject  of  the  alleged 
superiority  of  the  apostles.  Its  importance,  in  his  view,  may 
be  seen  from  the  fact,  that  it  is  not  merely  the  only  proof, 
but  that  it  is  repeated  not  less  than  five  times  in  the  space  of 
less  than  a  single  page  of  the  Tract,  (pp.  14,  15 ;)  and  that  it 
occupies  a  similar  prominence  in  the  Answer.  The  Tract  has 
been  written  four  years.  Diligent  research  during  that  time, 
it  would  be  supposed,  might  have  led  to  the  discovery  of  some 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  269 

other  text  that  had  a  bearing  on  the  point.  But  the  matter 
still  rests  here.  There  is  no  other  text  ;  and  the  fabric  is  to 
be  sustained  on  the  solitary  expression,  "  apostles  and  elders," 
"apostles,  and  elders,  and  brethren." 

(2.)  What  does  this  passage  prove  ?  It  proves  this,  and 
no  more,  that  there  was  a  distinction,  of  some  sort,  between 
the  apostles  and  elders, — which  is  a  point  of  just  as  much 
importance  as  when  we  affirm,  that  one  class  were  called 
apostles,  and  another  called  elders.  But  it  is  difficult  for  us 
to  see  how  this  determines  any  thing  respecting  the  reasons 
of  the  distinction.  In  Ephesians  iv.  11,  the  apostle  affirms, 
that  God  gave  "  some,  apostles;  and  some,  prophets;  and 
some,  evangelists;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers."  Here 
a  distinction  is  made  out.  But  is  the  nature  of  the  distinc 
tion  thereby  ascertained  ?  I  speak  of  guineas,  and  doubloons, 
and  guilders.  I  affirm  a  distinction,  indeed ;  but  is  its  nature 
ascertained  ?  Have  I  determined  that  the  guinea  is,  there 
fore,  superior  in  weight  or  value  to  the  others  ? 

(3.)  We  have  never  denied  that  there  was  a  distinction 
between  the  apostles,  and  elders,  and  brethren.  The  very 
fact  that  they  had  the  same  apostles,  shows,  that  there  must 
have  been  some  distinction,  or  some  reason  why  they  were  so 
called.  "Unusual  discernment,  or  laboured  argument,  surely, 
are  not  necessary  to  perceive  this.  But  the  very  point  is, 
what  is  the  nature  of  this  distinction  ?  And  this  is  to  be 
settled,  not  by  the  use  of  the  word,  but  by  the  statement  in 
the  New  Testament ;  and  it  is  incumbent  on  the  Episcopalian 
to  show,  \>j  proof -texts,  that  it  was  because  the  apostles  were 
superior,  in  the  power  of  ordination,  of  confirmation,  of  disci 
pline,  and  of  general  superintendence  of  a  diocese.  Dr.  On- 
derdonk  affirmed  that  the  name  was  not  so  given,  because 
they  were  appointed  by  Christ  personally ;  nor  because  they 
had  seen  the  Lord  after  his  resurrection ;  nor  because  they 
had  the  power  of  working  miracles ;  and  then  observed,  that 

23* 


270  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

"  it  followed,  OR  would  not  be  questioned,  that  it  was  because 
they  were  superior  in  ministerial  power  and  rights."  (Tract, 
p.  15.)  It  seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  him,  that  they 
could  be  appointed  to  be  WITNESSES  of  his  entire  ministry, 
including  the  fact  of  his  resurrection,  as  a  main  point.  We 
took  the  liberty,  therefore,  of  examining  this  matter,  as  very 
material  to  the  argument.  We  proved,  (1.)  That  in  the 
original  appointment  of  the  apostles,  there  was  no  reference  to 
their  superiority,  in  the  powers  of  ordination,  discipline,  etc. 
This  position  we  supported  by  the  three  separate  accounts  of 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke.  (2.)  That  no  such  thing  oc 
curred  in  the  instructions  of  our  Lord,  after  his  resurrection 
from  the  dead.  This  also  we  confirmed  by  an  examination 
of  the  testimony  of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  in  neither 
of  whose  gospels  was  there  found  a  vestige  of  such  instruc 
tions.  (3.)  That  there  was  nowhere  else,  in  the  New  Testa 
ment,  any  account  that  what  Dr.  Onderdonk  affirmed,  as  the 
peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  was  known  to  the  writers. 
This  conclusion  we  rested  upon  our  own  examination,  and  the 
fact  that  Dr.  Onderdonk  had  not  adduced  any  such  passage. 
(4.)  That  the  reason  of  the  appointment  to  the  apostolic 
office  icas  expressly  affirmed;  and,  that  it  was  not  that  which 
Dr.  Onderdonk  supposed  it  to  be.  We  showed,  (a)  that  it 
was  expressly  affirmed,  in  the  original  appointment,  (Luke 
xxiv.  48 ;  Matt,  xxviii.  18,  19,)  that  they  should  be  WIT 
NESSES  of  these  things;  (K)  that  this  was  expressly  provided 
for,  in  the  case  of  the  election  of  one  to  fill  the  place  vacated 
by  Judas,  (Acts  i.  21,  22;)  (c)  that  this  was  the  account 
which  the  apostles  uniformly  gave  of  the  design  of  their  ap 
pointment,  (see  p.  217 ;)  (d)  that  the  same  thing  was  again 
expressly  provided  for  in  the  case  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  and 
that,  in  order  to  a  qualification  for  that  office,  he  was  per 
mitted  to  "SEE  the  Just  one/'  the  Lord  Jesus,  (Acts  xxii.  14;) 
and,  (e)  that  he  himself  expressly  appeals  to  the  fact,  as  a 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  271 

proof  t luit  ho  was  fully  invested  with  the  apostolic  office. 
1  Cor.  ix.  1,  2.  In  the  course  of  the  argument,  we  adduced 
not  less  than  twenty  explicit  passages  of  Scripture  bearing 
directly  on  the  point,  and  proving,  beyond  dispute,  that  this 
was  the  design  of  the  appointment  to  the  apostolic  office. 
Our  purpose,  in  this,  was  evident.  It  was  to  show  that  the 
peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  was  of  such  a  nature,  that  it 
could  not  be  transmitted  to  distant  generations;  but  that  it, 
had  a  specific,  yet  very  important  design,  which,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  must  cease. 

With  deep  interest,  therefore,  we  opened  the  "  Answer," 
to  ascertain  how  this  array  of  scriptural  argument  was  met. 
"We  did  not  deem  it  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  there  would 
be  some  new  attempt  to  show,  that  the  peculiarity  of  the  apos 
tolic  office  was  to  ordain ;  that  the  passages  of  Scripture  on 
which  we  had  relied,  were  irrelevant ;  or,  that  other  passages 
might  be  adduced  in  proof  of  what  Dr.  Onderdonk  had 
affirmed  to  be  the  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office,  and  which 
we  had  respectfully  denied.  Our  readers  will  join  with  us  in 
our  "amazement"  to  find  the  following  as  the  result  of  an 
examination  of  the  "  Answer  :" 

(1.)  A  solemn,  and  somewhat  pompous,  readducing  of  the 
expression,  (Acts  xv.,)  "the  apostles  and  elders,"  "  the  apos 
tles,  and  elders,  and  brethren,"  (Answer,  p.  7;)  a  passage, 
maintaining  still  its  solitary  dignity,  and  reposing  in  the 
"Answer,"  as  it  had  in  the  "Tract,"  in  its  own  lonely  gran 
deur.  We  could  not  restrain  our  "amazement,"  that  no 
other  passages  were  even  referred  to,  on  this  material  point ; 
and  we  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  we  had  reached  an  end  of 
the  argument,  so  far  as  direct  Scripture  proof  was  concerned. 

(2.)  We  found  a  notice  of  our  extended  array  of  proof- 
texts,  showing  what  was  the  design  of  the  apostolic  appoint 
ment,  of  a  character  so  remarkable,  that  we  shall  quote  it 
entire  : — 


272  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

"  The  reviewer,  in  order  to  show  what  he  thinks  was  the  point  in 
which  the  apostles  excelled  the  elders,  in  the  matter  in  question, 
dwells  largely  on  the  fact,  that  they  were  special  witnesses  of  our 
Lord's  resurrection, — and  with  the  help  of  CAPITAL  and  italic  letters, 
he  has  certainly  made  a  showy  argument.  But  nobody  denies  that 
they  were  the  special  witnesses, — or,  that  they  were  distinguished 
from  the  elders,  as  well  as  from  others  called  apostles, — the  Tract 
gave  due  attention  to  both  these  particulars.  The  point  is, — was 
this  distinction  the  one  that  led  to  the  expression  '  apostles  and 
elders  ?'  Surely  not.  Among  those  apostles  was  Barnabas,  and 
perhaps  Silas,*  neither  of  whom  was  a  special  witness  of  the  resur 
rection.  Besides,  the  expressions  '  apostles  and  elders,'  '  apostles, 
and  elders,  and  brethren,'  are  used  with  immediate  reference  to  the 
council  at  Jerusalem, — and  the  reviewer  is  more  acute  than  we  pre 
tend  to  be,  if  he  can  say  why,  in  a  council,  acting  on  questions 
concerning  'idols,  blood,  things  strangled,  and  licentiousness,'  the 
special  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  should,  as  such,  have  peculiar 
authority.  We  really  think  the  Tract  argues  with  more  consistency, 
when  it  says,  that  the  apostles  were  ministerially  above  the  elders." 
Answer,  p.  16. 

Here,  it  will  be  observed,  there  is  no  notice  taken  of  the 
texts  which  he  had  adduced,  as  irrelevant,  or  unsatisfactory 
in  number,  or  as  unfairly  interpreted.  Dr.  Onderdonk,  if  he 
was  the  writer  of  the  Answer,  deemed  it  an  ample  notice  of 
those  texts  to  remark  that,  "  with  the  help  of  CAPITAL  and 
italic  letters,  he  (the  reviewer)  had  certainly  made  a  showy 
argument/'  (Answer,  p.  16.)  That  our  agument  was  thus 
noticed,  was,  indeed,  to  us  a  matter  of  (( amazement."  It 
was,  however,  an  indication — of  which  we  were  not  slow  to 
avail  ourselves,  and  the  hold  upon  which  we  shall  not  be 
swift  to  lose — that  our  proof-texts  were  ad  rein,  and  that  they 
settled  the  question.  When  all  that  the  assistant-bishop  of 
Pennsylvania  deems  it  proper  to  say,  of  our  array  of  more 
than  twenty  explicit  declarations  of  the  word  of  God,  is, 


*  Acts  xiv.  14;  xv.  2,  4,  22;  1  Thess.  i.  1;  ii.  6. 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  273 

that  by  the  help  of  capitals  and  italics,  they  constitute 
a  "SHOWY  argument/'  (we  mean  no  disrespect,  when  we 
display  the  word  in  a  showy  form,)  we  deem  the  conclusion  to 
be  inevitable,  that  our  texts  are  just  what  we  intended  they 
should  be — that  they  settled  the  question — and,  to  use  an 
expression  from  the  favourite  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  we  "rejoice  for  the  consolation."  Acts  xv.  31. 

(3.)  Though  we  were  not  met  by  any  new  proof-texts,  or 
by  answer  to  our  own,  we  were  referred  to  the  sentiments 
of  the  following  distinguished  men,  viz.,  the  late  Dr.  Wilson, 
Dr.  Miller,  Dr.  Campbell,  Matthew  Henry,  "the  dii-incs  who 
argued  with  Charles  I.  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,"  and  Calvin,  to 
prove  that  the  apostles  were  superior  to  the  elders  and  the 
evangelists.  (Answer,  p.  10.)  Respecting  these  authorities, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  remark  (1)  that  we  shall  probably 
not  yield,  out  of  regard  to  their  names,  to  any  persons.  With 
us,  they  have  all  the  authority  which  uninspired  men  can  ever 
be  allowed  to  have.  The  writer  of  the  review  may  be  per 
mitted  to  remark,  perhaps,  that  he  has  occasion  of  peculiar 
respect  for  two  of  those  venerable  men.  By  one — whose 
superior,  in  profound  powers  of  reasoning,  in  varied  and 
extensive  learning  and  in  moral  worth,  he  believes  is  not  now 
to  be  found  among  the  living  in  any  American  church — he 
was  preceded  in  the  office  which  he  now  holds.  At  the  feet 
of  the  other,  it  has  been  his  privilege  to  sit,  for  nearly  four 
years,  and  to  receive  the  instructions  of  wisdom  from  his  lips ; 
and,  whatever  skill  he  may  have  in  conducting  this  argument, 
on  the  government  of  the  churches,  he  owes  to  the  "  basis" 
which  was  laid  by  those  instructions.  Whatever  may  be  said, 
therefore,  of  these  authorities  adduced  in  the  "Answer,"  will 
not  be  traced  to  want  of  respect  for  these  venerable  names. 
But  (2)  we  may  remark,  that,  in  this  argument,  the  authori 
ties  of  uninspired  men  are  to  be  laid  out  of  the  account. 
With  all  due  deference  to  them  and  to  Dr.  Onderdonk,  we 


274  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

must  be  permitted  to  believe  that  their  authority  belongs  to 
the  "extraneous  considerations/'  as  well  as  that  of  the 
opinion  of  Cranmer,  (Answer,  p.  5,)  which,,  by  common  con 
sent,  it  had  been  agreed  to  lay  out  of  the  controversy.  (See 
Tract,  pp.  3-10.)  Our  wonder  is,  that,  after  the  disclaimer 
of  relying  on  these  extraneous  considerations,  in  the  Tract, 
the  author  of  the  Answer  should  have  occupied  nearly  two 
pages  with  the  statements  of  these  distinguished  men. 
(3)  Their  authority,  even  when  adduced,  docs  not  bear  on  the 
point  before  us.  The  question  is,  whether  the  apostles  were 
superior  to  other  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  ministerial  power 
and  rights;  that  is,  the  power  of  ordination,  confirmation, 
discipline,  and  general  superintendence.  Their  authorities 
adduced  prove  only  that,  in  the  judgment  of  these  venerable 
men,  they  were  superior,  in  some  respects,  to  evangelists  and 
teachers ;  or,  that  there  was  a  distinction  between  them — a 
point  on  which  we  make  no  denial.  On  the  only  question  in 
debate,  they  make  no  affirmation.  On  the  claim  set  up  by 
Episcopalians,  that  the  apostles  were  superior  in  ordination, 
etc.,  they  concede  nothing,  nor  did  they  believe  a  word  of  it. 

Having  thus  noticed  the  "  Answer"  on  this  part  of  our 
argument,  we  shall  dismiss  it.  We  do  it  by  simply  remind 
ing  our  readers,  that  the  solitary  text,  which  undisputed 
learning,  talents,  and  zeal  have  discovered,  during  a  period 
of  more  than  four  years,  since  the  discussion  first  commenced, 
— the  lonely  Scripture  proof  of  the  sweeping  claims  that  the 
apostles  only  had  the  power  of  ordination,  and  that  this  was 
the  peculiarity  of  the  office, — stands  forth  in  the  Tract  and  in 
the  Answer:  "the  apostles  and  elders,"  "apostles,  and  elders, 
and  brethren  !" 

But  the  author  of  the  "  Answer"  complains,  (p.  11,)  that 
we  did  not  give  the  "whole"  of  his  argument  on  the  subject; 
and  he  refers  to  a  note  on  p.  12  of  the  Tract,  designed  to  show 
that  the  apostles  had  the  power  of  administering  discipline, 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  Z75 

and  that,  therefore,  they  were  superior  to  the  presbyters,  or 
held  a  more  elevated  grade  of  office.     The  note  is  this  : — 

"  That  the  apostles  alone  ordained,  will  be  proved.  In  1  Cor.  iv. 
19-21 ;  v.  o-5  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  G  ;  vii.  12  ;  x.  8  ;  xiii.  2,  10  ;  and  1  Tim. 
i.  20,  are  recorded  inflictions  and  remissions  of  discipline  performed 
by  an  apostle,  or  threatenings  on  his  part,  although  there  must  have 
been  elders  in  Corinth,  and  certainly  were  in  Ephesus." 

This  note  he  expands  into  1111  argument,  which  constitutes 
the  most  material  part  of  the  "Answer."  It  is  incumbent 
upon  us  to  examine  it,  and  to  ascertain  how  far  it  goes  to 
settle  the  point  under  discussion.  Before  examining  the  par 
ticular  cases  referred  to,  we  would  remind  our  readers,  that 
the  purpose  for  which  they  are  adduced,  is  to  show  that  the 
apostles  were  superior  to  presbyters  in  powers  and  rights;  and 
the  alleged  proof  is,  that  they  administered  discipline.  To 
bear  on  the  case,  therefore,  the  passages  must  prove  not  only 
that  they  exercised  discipline,  but  (1)  that  they  did  it  as 
apostlcSj  or  in  the  virtue  of  the  apostolic  office ;  (2)  that  they 
did  it  in  churches  where  there  were  presbyters ;  and  (3)  that 
presbyters  never  administered  discipline  themselves.  The 
second  point  here  adverted  to,  is  all  that  the  author  of  the 
"  Answer"  feels  himself  called  upon  to  make  out.  (Answer, 
pp.  11-13.)  Now  in  regard  to  this  point  of  the  proof,  we 
make  the  following  general  remarks :  (1.)  There  were  cer 
tainly,  in  all,  fourteen  apostles;  and,  if  we  may  credit  the 
writer  of  these  pamphlets  and  reckon  Timothy,  and  Barnabas, 
and  Sylvanus,  and  Apollos,  and  Andronicus,  and  Junia,  and 
Titus,  and  perhaps  half-a-dozen  others,  there  were  somewhat 
more  than  a  score  invested  with  this  office ;  yet  it  is  remark 
able  that  the  only  cases  of  discipline  referred  to,  as  going  to 
prove  the  superiority  of  the  whole  college  of  apostles,  are  cases 
in  which  the  Apostle  Paul  only  was  concerned.  (2.)  There 
are  accounts  in  the  New  Testament  of  perhaps  some  hundreds 
of  churches  ;  and  yet  we  meet  with  no  instance  of  the  kind 


276  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

of  discipline  relied  on,  except  in  the  single  churches  of  Corinth 
and  Ephesus.  It  is  incredible  that  there  should  have  been  no 
other  cases  of  discipline  in  these  churches.  But  if  there  were, 
the  presumption  is,  that  they  were  settled  without  the  inter 
vention  of  an  apostle.  (3.)  These  very  cases,  as  we  shall 
presently  show,  were  cases  in  which  Paul  administered  the 
rod  of  discipline  in  the  churches  where  Titus  and  Timothy — 
apostles  also  and  bishops — were  present,  by  the  showing  of 
the  author  of  the  "  Answer/'  and  thus  were  acts  of  manifest 
disrespect  for  the  authority  of  those  prelates.  And  if  the  fact 
that  the  discipline  was  administered  where  there  were  presby 
ters,  (Answer,  pp.  11,  12,)  proves  that  the  apostle  was  supe 
rior  to  them,  the  same  fact  proves  that  he  was  superior  to 
Timothy  and  Titus.  The  course  of  the  argument  urged  by 
the  author  of  the  "  Answer/'  would  be,  that  Paul  was  dis 
posed  to  assume  the  whole  power  into  his  own  hands,  and  to 
set  aside  the  claims  alike  of  bishops  and  presbyters.  It  has  a 
very  undesirable  looking  toward  the  authority  claimed  by  the 
Papacy. 

The  two  cases  alleged  as  proof  that  the  apostles  only  had 
the  power  of  administering  discipline,  are  those  at  Corinth  and 
at  Ephesus.  Paul  wrote  fourteen  epistles,  and  wrote  them  to 
eight  churches.  In  all  these  epistles,  and  in  all  the  nume 
rous  churches  of  which  he  had  the  charge,  (2  Cor.  xi.  28, 
"the  care  of  all  the  churches/')  these  are  the  only  instances 
in  which  he  was  called,  so  far  as  appears,  to  exercise  disci 
pline.  We  now  inquire,  whether  he  did  it  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  the  apostles  only  had  this  power. 

The  first  case  alleged  is  that  at  Corinth.  "  In  1  Cor. 
iv.  19-21,  etc.,  are  recorded  inflictions  and  remissions  of  dis 
cipline  performed  by  an  apostle,  or  threatenings  on  his  part; 
although  there  must  have  been  elders  at  Corinth."  (Note  z, 
Tract,  p.  12.)  The  argument  here  is,  that  there  must  have 
been  elders  at  Corinth,  and  yet  that  Paul  interposed  over 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  277 

their  heads   to  inflict  discipline.     This  is  the  whole  of  the 
argument.  (See  Answer,  p.  11.) 

In  reply  to  these  we  observe :  That  there  were  ciders, 
teachers,  ministers,  instructors  in  Corinth,  we  think  it  placed 
beyond  a  question,  by  the  argument  of  the  u  Answer"  and  by 
the  nature  of  the  case.  This  fact  we  do  not  intend  to  call  in 
question.  The  argument  of  the  u  Answer"  from  this  fact,  wo 
state  in  the  author's  own  words : — 

"  Yet,  without  noticing  these  elders  in  the  matter,  so  far  as  the 
epistles  show — though  they  doubtless  were  noticed  and  consulted, 
as  much  as  courtesy  and  their  pastoral  standing  made  proper — 
without  putting  the  matter  into  their  hands,  or  even  passing  it 
through  their  hands,  Paul  threatens,  inflicts,  and  remits  discipline 
among  the  people  of  their  charge.  This  is  a  '  ministerial  act.'  And 
Paul's  doing  it  himself,  instead  of  committing  it  to  the  elders,  shows 
that  he,  an  apostle,  was  '  superior  to  them  in  ministerial  power  and 
rights.'  "  p.  11. 

Further,  if  there  were  elders  there,  there  was  an  "  apostle;" 
a  prelatical  bishop,  according  to  the  Tract,  there  also.  This 
is  shown  by  a  quotation  from  the  Epistle  itself,  relating  to  this 
very  time,  and  in  immediate  connection  with  the  case  of  disci 
pline.  (1  Cor.  iv.  17.)  "  For  this  cause,  [that  is,  on  account 
of  your  divided  and  contending  state,]  have  I  sent  unto  you 
Timothcus,  who  is  my  beloved  son  and  faithful  in  the  Lord, 
who  shall  bring  you  into  remembrance  of  my  ways  which  be 
in  Christ,  as  I  teach  everywhere  in  every  church."  Now,  as 
it  will  not  be  pretended  by  Episcopalians  that  Timothy  was 
not  an  "apostle,"  and,  as  it  is  undeniable  that  he  was  at  that 
time  at  Corinth,  the  argument  will  as  well  apply  to  set  aside 
his  right  to  administer  discipline  in  the  case,  as  that  of  the 
elders.  Borrowing,  then,  the  words  of  the  Answer,  we  would 
say :  "  Yet  without  noticing"  this  apostle  "  in  the  matter,  so 
far  as  the  epistles  show — though"  he  was  t(  doubtless  noticed 
and  consulted,  as  much  as  courtesy  and  his"  apostolical 
VOL.  I.  24 


278  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

"  standing  made  proper,  without  putting  the  matter  into'7  his 
li  hands,  or  even  passing  it  through"  his  "  hands, — Paul 
threatens,  inflicts,  and  remits  discipline.  This  is  a  ( ministe 
rial'  act.  And  Paul's  doing  it  himself,  instead  of  committing 
it  to''  Timothy,  "shows,  that  he,  an  apostle,  was  superior  to" 
him  "  in  ministerial  power  and  rights."  Now  no  Episcopa 
lian  will  fail  to  be  at  once  deeply  impressed  with  the  fallacy 
of  this  reasoning,  in  regard  to  the  "apostle"  and  "bishop" 
Timothy.  And  yet,  it  is  manifestly  just  as  pertinent  and 
forcible  in  his  case,  as  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  the  Answer  in 
regard  to  the  elders  of  Corinth.  It  cannot  be  pretended  that 
a  difference  existed,  because  the  "elders"  were  permanently 
located  there,  and  Timothy  not;  for  the  argument  of  the 
"  Tract"  and  the  "  Answer"  is,  that  the  apostles  were  supe 
rior,  as  oj)osths}  and,  therefore,  it  made  no  difference  on  this 
point,  whether  they  were  at  Corinth,  or  at  Crete,  or  at 
Antioch  •  they  were  invested  with  the  apostolic  office  every 
where.  Our  conclusion,  from  this  instance,  and  from  the 
fact  which  we  have  now  stated,  is,  that  there  was  some  pecu 
liarity  in  the  case  at  Corinth,  which  rendered  the  ordinary 
exercise  of  discipline  by  presbyters  difficult ;  which  operated 
equally  against  any  interference  by  Timothy;  and  which 
called  peculiarly  for  the  interposition  of  the  founder  of  the 
church,  and  of  an  inspired  apostle, — for  one  clothed  with 
authority  to  inflict  a  heavy  judgment,  here  denominated 
"  delivering  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh," 
(1  Cor.  v.  5,) — a  power  which  could  be  exercised  by  none 
then  in  Corinth.  Our  next  inquiry  is,  whether  there  are 
any  reasons  for  this  opinion.  The  following  we  believe 
satisfactory : — 

(1.)  Paul  had  founded  that  church,  (Acts  xviii.  1-11,)  and 
his  interference  in  cases  of  discipline  would  be  regarded  as 
peculiarly  proper.  There  would  be  a  natural  and  obvious 
deference  to  the  founder  of  the  church,  which  would  render 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  279 

such  an  interposition  in  the  highest  degree  appropriate.  We 
are  confirmed  in  this  view,  because  he  puts  his  authority  -in  tliis 
'K'i')/  case,  on  such  a  fact,  and  on  the  deference  which  was  due 
to  him  as  their  spiritual  father,  (1  Cor.  iv.  15  :)  "  For  though 
ye  have  ten  thousand  instructors  in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not 
many  FATHERS  ;  for  in  Christ  Jesus  1  have  begotten  you 
through  the  gospel." 

(2.)  The  circumstances  of  the  church  at  Corinth  were  such, 
evidently,  as  to  render  the  ordinary  exercise  of  discipline,  by 
their  own  elders,  impossible.  They  were  distracted ;  were 
rent  into  parties ]  were  engaged  in  violent  contention;  and 
the  authority,  therefore,  of  one  portion  of  the  "  teachers"  and 
"instructors"  would  be  disregarded  by  the  other.  Thus  no 
united  sentence  could  be  agreed  upon;  and  no  judgment  of  a 
party  could  restore  peace.  An  attempt  to  exercise  discipline 
would  only  enkindle  party  animosity  and  produce  strife.  (See 
chap.  i.  11—17.)  So  great,  evidently,  was  the  contention,  arid 
so  hopeless  the  task  of  allaying  it  by  any  ordinary  means,  that 
even  Timothy j  whom  Paul  had  sent  for  the  express  purpose 
of  bringing  them  into  remembrance  of  his  ways,  (1  Cor. 
iv.  17,)  could  have  no  hope,  by  his  own  interference,  of  allay 
ing  it.  It  was  natural  that  it  should  be  referred  to  the 
founder  of  the  church,  and  to  one  who  had  the  power  of 
punishing  the  offender. 

(o.)  It  is  material  to  remark,  that  this  was  not  an  ordinary 
case  of  discipline.  It  was  one  that  required  the  severest 
exercise  of  authority,  and  in  a  form  which  was  lodged  only 
with  those  intrusted  with  the  power  of  inflicting  disease,  or, 
as  it  is  termed,  "  of  delivering  to  Satan  for  the  destruction  of 
the  flesh."  1  Cor.  v.  5.  Such  cases  would  inevitably  devolve 
upon  the  apostles,  as  clothed  with  miraculous  power;  and 
such,  beyond  all  controversy,  was  this  case.  It  therefore 
proves  nothing  about  the  ordinary  mode  of  administering 
discipline.  This  case  had  reached  to  such  a  degree  of  enor- 


280  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

inity;  it  bad  been  suffered  to  remain  so  long;  it  had  become 
so  aggravated,  that  it  was  necessary  to  interpose  in  this  awful 
manner,  and  to  decide  it.  Yet, 

(4.)  The  apostle  supposes  that  they  ought  to  have  exercised 
the  usual  discipline  themselves.  This  is  evident,  we  think, 
from  a  comparison  of  the  following  passages  :  1  Cor.  v.  9,  10, 
11,  12,  with  v.  2.  In  these  verses  it  is  supposed  that  they 
did  themselves  usually  exercise  discipline.  Paul  (ver.  9) 
gave  them  the  general  direction  not  to  keep  company  with 
fornicators ;  that  is,  to  exercise  discipline  on  those  who  did. 
In  ver.  11,  he  asks  them, — in  a  manner  showing  that  the 
affirmative  answer  to  the  question  expressed  their  usual  prac 
tice, — whether  they  did  not  a judge  those  that  were  within?" 
— that  is,  whether  they  did  not  ordinarily  exercise  discipline 
in  the  church?  And  in  ver.  2,  he  supposes  that  it  ought  to 
have  been  done  in  this  case;  and  as  it  had  not  been  done  by 
them,  and  the  affair  had  assumed  special  enormity,  he  exercised 
the  miraculous  power  intrusted  to  him  by  inflicting  on  the 
offender  a  grievous  disease,  (ver.  4,  5;  comp.  1  Cor.  xi.  30.) 

(5.)  It  is  evident  that  other  churches  did,  in  ordinary 
cases,  exercise  discipline  without  the  intervention  of  an  apos 
tle.  Thus,  the  church  in  Thessalonica — where  Episcopacy, 
with  all  its  zeal,  has  never  been  able  even  to  conjecture  that 
there  was  a  diocesan  bishop — was  directed  to  exercise  disci 
pline  in  any  instance  where  the  command  of  the  inspired 
apostle  was  not  obeyed.  (2  Thess.  iii.  14.)  We  shall  soon 
make  this  point  incontestable. 

(6.)  The  circumstances  of  the  early  churches  were  such  as 
to  make  this  apostolic  intervention  proper,  and  even  indis 
pensable,  without  supposing  that  it  was  to  be  a  permanent 
arrangement.  They  were  ignorant  and  feeble.  They  had 
had  little  opportunity  of  learning  the  nature  of  Christianity. 
In  most  cases  their  founders  were  with  them  but  a  few  weeks, 
ani  then  left  them  under  the  care  of  elders  ordained  from 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  281 

among  themselves.  (Comp.  Acts  xiii.  xiv.,  et passim.'}  Those 
elders  would  be  poorly  qualified  to  discharge  the  functions  of 
their  office ;  and  they  would  be  but  little  elevated,  in  charac 
ter  and  learning,  above  the  mass  of  the  people.  The  churches 
must  be  imperfectly  organized;  unaccustomed  to  rigid  disci 
pline  -j  exposed  to  many  temptations ;  easily  drawn  into  sin, 
and  subject  to  great  agitation  and  excitement.  Even  a  great 
many  subjects  which  may  now  be  considered  as  settled,  in 
morals  and  religion,  would  appear  to  them  open  for  debate; 
and  parties,  as  at  Corinth,  would  easily  be  formed.  (Comp. 
Acts  xiv.  xv. ;  Horn.  xiv. ;  1  Cor.  vii.)  In  these  circum 
stances,  how  natural  was  it  for  these  churches  to  look  for 
direction  to  the  inspired  men  who  had  founded  them;  and 
how  natural,  that  such  persons  should  interpose  and  settle 
important  and  difficult  cases  of  discipline.  And  after  these 
obvious  considerations,  are  we  to  suppose  that  the  fact  that 
the  Apostle  Paul,  in  two  cases, — and  two  such  cases  only  arc 
recorded, — exercised  an  extraordinary  act  of  discipline  is  to  be 
regarded  as  proof  that  this  power  appertained  only  to  the 
apostolic  office,  and  was  to  be  a  permanent  arrangement  in  the 
church?  We  confess  our  u  amazement"  that  but  two  cases- 
of  apostolic  interference  are  mentioned,  during  the  long  and 
active  life  of  Paul ;  and  we  regard  this  as  some  evidence  that 
the  churches  were  expected  to  exercise  discipline,  and  actually 
did  so,  on  their  own  members. 

(7.)  We  arc  confirmed  in  our  views  on  this  point,  from 
what  is  known  to  take  place  in  organizing  churches  in  heathen 
countries  at  the  present  day.  Since  we  commenced  this 
article,  we  were  conversing  with  one  of  the  American  mis 
sionaries,  stationed  at  Ceylon.*  In  the  course  of  the  conver 
sation,  he  incidentally  remarked  that  the  missionaries  were 
obliged  to  retain  the  exercise  of  discipline  in  their  own  hands; 


Rev.  Mr.  Winslow. 

24* 


282  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

and  that,  although  the  mission  had  been  established  more 
than  fifteen  years,  yet  the  exercise  of  discipline  had  never 
been  intrusted  to  the  native  convert?.  He  farther  observed 
that  the  missionaries  had  been  endeavouring  to  find  persons  to 
whom  they  could  intrust  the  discipline  of  the  church  as  elders, 
but  as  yet  they  had  not  found  one.  The  native  converts  were 
still  so  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  Christianity;  they  had  so  little 
influence  in  the  church  ;  they  were  so  partial  to  each  other, 
even  when  in  fault,  that,  thus  far,  discipline — though  some 
what  frequent  acts  of  discipline  were  necessary — was  retained 
in  the  hands  of  the  missionaries.  Substantially  the  same 
thing  must  have  occurred  in  the  early  churches  in  Asia  Minor, 
in  Syria,  and  Greece.  Will  Dr.  Onderdonk  infer  that  because 
Mr.  Winslow,  Mr.  Poor,  and  Dr.  Scudder,  in  Ceylon,  have 
found  it  necessary  to  retain  the  power  of  administering  disci 
pline,  that  therefore  they  are  diocesan  bishops,  and  that  they 
do  not  contemplate  that  the  churches  in  Ceylon  shall  be  other 
than  prelatical '!  If  not,  his  argument  in  the  case  of  the 
church  in  Corinth  can  be  allowed  no  weight. 

We  have  now  done  with  this  instance  of  discipline.  We 
•  have  shown  that  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  can  be 
accounted  for,  without  any  such  conclusion  as  that  to  which 
the  author  of  the  Tract  is  desirous  to  conduct  it.  We 
turn,  therefore,  to  his  other  case  of  discipline,  in  the  church 
at  Ephesus. 

The  case  is  thus  stated  in  1  Tim.  i.  20  :  "  Of  whom  is 
Hymeneus  and  Alexander;  whom  1  have  delivered  unto 
Satan,  that  they  may  learn  not  to  blaspheme."  His  argu 
ment  is,  that  "  it  is  the  apostle  who  inflicts  the  discipline ;  the 
elders  do  not  appear  in  the  matter.  And  discipline  is  a  minis 
terial  function,  and  excommunication  its  highest  exercise." 
(Answer,  p.  13.)  In  reply  to  this  case,  we  make  the  follow 
ing  observations  : 

(1.)  It  occurs  in  a  charge  to  Timothy, — Timothy,  on  the 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  283 

supposition  of  Episcopalians,  an  apostle  co-ordinate  with  Paul 
himself;  Timothy,  prelate  of  Ephesus.  If  Timothy  was  an 
apostle  and  diocesan  bishop,  and  if  the  exercise  of  discipline 
pertained  to  the  apostle  and  bishop,  why  did  Paul  take  the 
matter  into  his  own  hands  ?  Why  not  refer  it  to  Timothy, 
and  repose  sufficient  confidence  in  him  to  believe  that  he  was 
competent  to  fulfil  this  part  of  his  Episcopal  office?  Would 
it  now  be  regarded  as  courteous  for  the  bishop  of  Ohio  to 
interpose  and  inflict  an  act  of  discipline  on  some  Ilymcneus  or 
Alexander  of  the  diocese  of  Pennsylvania?  And  would  there 
be  as  cordial  submission  of  the  bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  as 
there  was  of  the  bishop  of  Ephesus  ?  If  Timothy  was  at 
Ephesus,  and  if  the  case  of  discipline  occurred  at  the  time 
which  Dr.  Onderdonk  supposes,  this  case  appears,  to  our  hum 
ble  apprehension,  very  much  as  if  Paul  regarded  Timothy  as 
neither  an  apostle  nor  a  prelate. 

(2.)  If  the  exercise  of  the  authority  in  this  case  of  disci 
pline  by  Paul  proves  that  the  presbyters  at  Ephesus  had  no 
right  to  administer  discipline,  for  the  same  reason  it  proves 
that  Timothy  had  not  that  right.  By  the  supposition  of  Epis 
copalians,  Timothy  was  there  as  well  as  the  presbyters.  The 
assumption  of  the  authority  by  Paul  proves  as  much  that  it 
did  not  belong  to  Timothy,  as  that  it  did  not  belong  to  the 
presbyters. 

(o.)  This  was  a  case  such  as  occurred  at  Corinth.  It  was 
not  an  ordinary  act  of  discipline;  it  was  one  which  supposed 
the  infliction  of  the  judgment  of  God  by  a  miraculous  agency  : 
"Whom  I  have  delivered  unto  Satan,  that  they  may  learn 
not  to  blaspheme."  Compare  this  account  with  the  rfcord 
of  the  case  in  Corinth,  (1  Cor.  v.  5,)  and  it  is  evident 
that  this  was  not  an  ordinary  act  of  discipline,  but  was 
such  as  implied  the  direct  infliction  of  the  judgment  of  the 
Almighty.  That  such  inflictions  were  intrusted  to  the  hands 
of  the  apostles,  we  admit;  and  that  Paul,  not  Timothy, 


284  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

inflicted  this,  proves  that  the  latter  was  neither  an  apostle  nor 
a  prelate. 

(4.)  Dr.  Ondcrdonk  supposes  that  this  occurred  at  Ephesus, 
and  while  Timothy  was  there.  But  what  evidence  is  there 
of  this  ?  It  is  neither  affirmed  that  the  transaction  was  at 
Ephesus,  nor  that  Timothy  was  there.  His  argument  pro 
ceeds  on  the  assumption  that  Timothy  was  bishop  there  when 
this  Epistle  was  written,  and  that  the  case  of  discipline  oc 
curred  there.  And  the  proof  of  this  would  probably  be,  the 
subscription  at  the  end  of  the  second  Epistle,  and  the  "  tradi 
tion  of  the  elders."  But  that  subscription  has  no  authority; 
and  it  is  not  to  be  assumed,  but  proved,  that  Timothy  was 
there  in  the  capacity  of  a  prelate,  or  there  at  all,  when  this 
Epistle  was  written  to  him.  The  demonstration  that  a  bishop 
only  exercised  discipline,  it  must  be  admitted,  rests  on  slender 
grounds,  if  this  be  all. 

(5.)  But  if  this  case  did  occur  at  Ephesus,  what  evidence 
is  there  that  it  occurred  at  the  time  that  Bishop  Onderdonk 
supposes  ?  The  account  in  the  Epistle  to  Timothy  by  no 
means  fixes  the  time  of  the  transaction.  a  Whom  I  have  de 
livered  (j:a.pida)-/.a)  unto  Satan,"  etc.  It  was  already  done ;  and 
the  presumption  is  that  it  was  done  when  Paul  was  himself 
present  with  them.  It  is  morally  certain  that  it  was  not  an 
act  of  discipline  that  was  then  to  be  done. 

Our  readers  have  now  the  whole  case  before  them.  Epis 
copacy  affirms  that  prelates  only  have  the  power  of  administer 
ing  discipline.  It  affirms  that  the  churches  are  prohibited 
from  exercising  it  on  their  own  members;  that  those  ap- 
poinfcd  to  preach  the  gospel,  to  administer  the  sacraments, 
and  to  be  pastors  of  the  flock,  and  who  may,  therefore,  be 
supposed  to  understand  the  cases  of  discipline,  and  best  qua 
lified  to  administer  it,  have  no  right  to  exercise  this  act  of 
government  over  their  own  members ;  but  that  this  exclusive 
prerogative  belongs  to  a  stranger  and  a  foreigner,  a  prelatical 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  285 

bishop,  whom  the  churches  seldom  sec,  and  who  must  be, 
in  a  great  degree,  unacquainted  with  their  peculiar  wants  and 
character.  All  power  of  discipline,  in  an  entire  diocese  of 
some  hundreds  of  churches,  is  to  be  taken  away  from  tho 
members  themselves,  and  from  the  pastors,  and  lodged  in 
strange  hands,  and  committed  to  a  solitary,  independent  man, 
who,  from  the  nature  of  the  circumstances,  can  have  little 
acquaintance  with  the  case,  and  possess  few  of  the  qualifica 
tions  requisite  for  the  intelligent  performance  of  his  duty. 
And  does  the  reader  ask  what  is  the  authority  for  this  as 
sumption  of  power  ?  Why  are  the  churches  and  their  pastors 
disrobed  of  this  office,  and  reduced  to  the  condition  of  hum 
ble  dependents  at  the  feet  of  the  prelate  ?  Let  him,  in  asto 
nishment,  learn.  It  is  not  because  there  is  any  command  to 
this  effect  in  the  New  Testament ;  it  is  not  because  there  is 
any  declaration  implying  that  it  would  be  so ;  it  is  not  by  any 
affirmation  that  it  ever  was  so.  This  is  the  reason,  and  this  is 
all  : — The  Apostle  Paul,  in  two  cases,  and  in  both  instances 
over  the  heads  of  presbyters,  (and  over  the  head  of  Bishop 
Timothy,  too,)  delivered  men  "  to  Satan  for  the  destruction 
of  the  flesh,  that  they  might  learn  not  to  blaspheme ;"  and, 
THEREFORE,  Bishop  Onderdonk,  and  Bishop  Griswold,  and 
Bishop  Doane,  only  have  power  to  administer  discipline  in  all 
the  churches  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  Eastern  diocese,  and 
in  New  Jersey ;  and,  THEREFORE,  all  the  acts  of  discipline 
exercised  by  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Baptists,  etc.,  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  and  by  the  Congregationalists 
of  New  England,  are  null  and  void.  The  disposal  of  such 
antecedents  and  consequents  may  be  safely  left  to  all  who  hold 
that  "  no  argument  is  worth  taking  into  the  account  that  has 
not  a  dear  and  palpable  bearing  on  the  naked  topic, — the 
scriptural  evidence  of  Episcopacy."  (Tract,  p.  3.) 

But  we  have   not   done  with  this   subject.     We  are  now 
prepared  to  show  not  only  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 


286  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

apostles  exclusively  exercised  discipline,  but  that  there  is 
positive  proof  that  all  the  acts  of  discipline  were,  in  fact, 
exercised  by  the  presbyters  of  the  churches.  To  put  this 
matter  to  rest,  we  adduce  the  following  passages  of  Scripture  : 

Acts  xx.  17,  28  :  "  From  Miletus,  Paul  sent  to  Ephesus, 
and  called  for  the  PRESBYTERS  of  the  church,  and  said  unto 
them  :  Take  heed  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  over 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  BISHOPS,  (l7T£<rx07rou£,) 
to  feed  (rcotfj.aivetv}  like  good  shepherds,  to  provide  for,  watch 
over,  and  govern)  the  church  of  God."  It  would  be  easy  to 
show  that  the  word  translated  feed  includes  the  whole  duty 
which  a  shepherd  exercises  over  his  flock,  including  all  that  is 
needful  in  the  supervision,  government,  and  defence  of  those 
under  his  care.  Proof  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  following 
passages  of  the  New  Testament,  where  the  word  occurs  in  the 
sense  of  ruling  or  governing,  including  of  course  the  exercise 
of  discipline  •  for  how  can  there  be  government,  unless  there 
is  authority  for  punishing  offenders  ? — Matt.  ii.  6 ;  John  xxi.  16 ; 
1  Peter  v.  2;  llev.  ii.  27  :  "And  he  shall  rule  them  (Koitj.wli 
av-ooq)  with  a  rod  of  iron  •"  an  expression  which  will  be 
allowed  to  imply  the  exercise  of  discipline.  Rev.  xii.  5; 
xix.  15.  Comp.  Ps.  ii.  9;  xxiii.  1;  xxvii.  12;  xlvii.  13. 
And  the  Iliad  of  Homer  may  be  consulted,  passim,  for  this 
use  of  the  word.  See  particularly  I.  253  ;  II.  85. 

1  Pet.  v.  2,  3  :  "  The  PRESBYTERS  who  are  among  you 
I  exhort,  who  am  also  a  PRESBYTER.  FEED  (rroj/jtezvare)  the 
flock  of  God  which  is  among  you,  taking  the  OVERSIGHT 
(ixiffxo-'juvTsi;,  discharging  the  duty  of  BISHOPS)  thereof,  not 
by  constraint,  but  willingly,"  etc.  Here  the  very  work  which 
is  claimed  fur  prelates  is  enjoined  on  presbyters,  the  very 
name  which  prelates  assume  is  given  to  presbyters;  and  Peter 
ranks  himself  as  on  a  level  with  them  in  the  office  of  exer- 
ct;;i;i<j  discipline.)  or  in  the  government  of  tJte  church.  It  is 
perfectly  obvious  that  the  presbyters  at  Ephesus,  and  the  prcs- 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  287 

byters  whom  Peter  addressed,  were  intrusted  with  the  pastoral 
care  to  the  fullest  extent.  It  is  obvious  that  they  were  re 
quired  to  engage  in  all  the  work  requisite  in  instructing, 
directing,  and  governing  the  flock.  And  it  is  as  obvious  that 
they  were  intrusted  with  a  power  and  an  authority  in  this 
business,  with  which  presbyters  are  not  intrusted  by  the 
canons  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  We  respectfully  ask, 
Whether  the  bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  or  New  Jersey,  would 
now  take  1  Pet.  v.  2,  3,  for  a  text,  and  address  the  "priests," 
or  "  second  order  of  clergy,"  in  these  words,  without  consi 
derable  qualification  :  "  The  PRESBYTERS  who  are  among  you 
I  exhort,  who  am  also  a  PRESBYTER.  Feed  (Troc^dvare)  the 
flock  of  God,  £-ifTx<>-owT£<;,  discharging  the  duty  of  BISHOPS, 
over  it,  not  by  constraint,  neither  as  being  LORDS  over  God's 
heritage." 

Ileb.  xiii.  7  :  "  Remember  them  which  have  the  rule  over 
your  :  ra>v  yyourjL&ws  uriwy,  YOUR  RULERS/'  Verse  17  : 
"  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you."  (7/£t#e<r#e  rol^ 
•frfdUfi&oiz  6uo>v.)  That  bishops  are  here  referred  to  no  one 
will  pretend.  Yet  the  office  of  riding  certainly  implies  that 
kind  of  government  which  is  concerned  in  the  administration 
of  discipline. 

1  Thess.  v.  12  :  "  We  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  know  them 
which  labour  among  you,  find  arc  over  you  in  the  Lord." 
(y.ai  ~p<n<7~at}.i^oo~  ufj.cov  &v  x6y>Eo>.)  1  Tim.  v.  17  '.  u  Let  the 
PRESBYTERS  that  rule  well  (r/wscToiTgs)  be  counted  worthy 
of  double  honour."  There  can  be  no  question  that  tlicte. 
passages  are  applied  to  presbyters.  We  conic,  then,  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  terms  which  properly  denote  government 
and  discipline,  and  on  which  alone  any  claim  for  the  cxerci.se 
of  authority  can  be  founded, — the  terms  expressive  of  govern 
ing,  of  feeding,  of  ruling,  of  taking  the  oversight,  are  all 
applied  to  presbyters;  that  the  churches  are  required  to 
submit  to  them  iu  the  exercise  of  that  office  \  and  that  the 


288  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

very  term  denoting*  episcopal  jurisdiction  is  applied  to  them 
also.  We  ask  for  a  solitary  passage  which  directs  apostles,  or 
prelates,  to  administer  discipline ;  and  we  leave  the  case  of 
discipline,  therefore,  to  the  common  sense  of  those  who  read 
the  New  Testament,  and  who  believe  that  presbyters  had  any 
duties  to  perform. 

We  have  now  examined  the  essential  point  in  Episcopacy ; 
for,  if  the  claims  which  are  arrogated  for  bishops  are  un 
founded,  the  system,  as  a  system,  is  destroyed.  We  have 
examined  the  solitary  passage  urged  directly  in  its  favour, 
"  the  apostles  and  elders/'  "  the  apostles,  and  elders,  and 
brethren/'  and  the  claims  set  up  in  favour  of  their  exclusive 
right  to  administer  discipline  j  and,  if  we  mistake  not,  we  have 
shown  that  hitherto,  so  stupendous  claims  have  never  been 
reared  on  so  narrow  a  basis. 

The  next  point  which  it  is  indispensable  for  Episcopalians 
to  make  out  from  the  Bible,  is,  that  it  was  intended  that  the 
superiority  in  ministerial  rank  and  power  should  be  a  per 
manent  arrangement.  This,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  a  distinct 
and  independent  inquiry.  It  by  no  means  follows  of  neces 
sity,  even  if  all  that  the  Episcopalians  claim  for  the  apostles 
had  this  superiority,  and  yet,  that  it  was  designed  merely  as 
a  temporary  arrangement.  As  the  "Answer"  has  added 
nothing  material  to  the  argument  of  the  Tract  on  this  subject, 
we  shall  not  long  be  detained  on  this  point.  The  sole  argu 
ment  in  the  "  Tract"  is  drawn  from  the  claim  that  Timothy 
was  bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  Titus  of  Crete ;  and  that  the 
"angels"  of  the  seven  churches  were  prelatical  bishops, 
(pp.  23-29.)  In  our  review,  we  examined  these  several 
claims  at  length,  (Review,  pp.  223-242.)  As  the  writer  of  the 
Answer  has  not  thought  proper  to  notice  our  argument  here, 
we  are  left  to  the  presumption,  that  an  obvious  or  satisfactory 
reply  was  not  at  hand.  The  train  of  our  reasoning,  then,  we 
shall  take  the  liberty  of  regarding  as  unbroken  and  untouched. 


THE    EPISCOPAL   CONT110VEHSY.  289 

The  only  appearance  of  argument  on  this  subject,  in  the 
Answer,  is  found  on  p.  14,  and  it  is  this  :  that  its  author 
supposes  our  argument  to  have  been  that  Timothy  and  Titus 
had  a  temporary  and  extraordinary  office,  because  they  were 
"  migratory ;"  and,  as  many  of  the  presbyters — Apollos,  for 
example — were  migratory,  hence  it  would  follow  that  the 
office  of  presbyter  also  was  temporary.  Now.  in  reply  to  this, 
we  observe,  that  although  we  did  affirm  the  appointment  of 
Timothy  and  Titus  to  have  been  "  temporary,"  yet  we  were 
not  so  weak  as  to  suppose  that  it  was  because  they  were  migra 
tory.  That  this  fact  indicated  that  they  had  not  a  permanent 
prelatical  office,  we  assuredly  did,  and  still  do  believe.  But 
we  showed — in  a  manner  which  we  marvel  the  author  of  the 
Answer  did  not  notice — that  Timothy  was  sent  to  Ephesus 
for  a  special  purpose,  and  that  he  was  to  execute  that  office 
only  until  Paul  returned.  (Review,  pp.  230,  233 ;  1  Tim.  i.  3  ; 
iv.  13  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  14, 15.)  The  same  thing  we  showed,  from 
the  New  Testament,  to  be  the  case  with  regard  to  Titus, 
(Review,  p.  236.  See  Titus  i.  6-9;  iii.  10,  12.)  We  never 
so  far  forgot  ourselves,  as  to  suppose  that  because  Timothy 
and  Titus  were  "  migratory/'  that,  therefore,  they  were  not 
bishops.  We  put  the  matter  on  wholly  different  ground  ;  and 
in  the  course  of  our  argument,  we  quoted  no  less  than  forty- 
six  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  containing,  we  believe,  all 
that  can  be  supposed  to  bear  on  the  point.  We  cannot  with 
hold  the  expressions  of  our  u  amazement,"  that  an  author 
whose  express  object  was  to  "  test  Episcopacy  by  Scripture," 
should  have  left  unnoticed  this  argument.  Never  was  there 
invented  a  shorter  and  more  convenient  mode  of  avoiding  such 
an  argument,  than  by  saying  of  something  which  we  never 
intended  to  urge,  that  the  whole  of  it  was  founded  on  the  fact 
of  their  being  "  migratory."  We  would  now  remind  the 
author,  that  our  argument  was  not  of  such  a  character;  but  it 
Vva.:s,  (1)  That  Timothy  is  not  even  called  an  apostle  ;  (2)  that 


290  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

he  is  expressly  distinguished  from  the  apostles;  (3)  that 
there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  bishop  of  Ephesus ;  (4)  that 
the  Scripture  affirms  he  was  sent  to  Ephesus  for  a  special  and 
temporary  purpose;  and  (5)  that  the  Epistles  to  Timothy 
contain  full  proof  of  the  falsehood  of  any  such  supposition  as 
that  he  was  a  prelatical  bishop ;  because  (a)  there  are  but  two 
orders  of  officers  in  the  church  spoken  of  in  those  Epistles; 
(6)  they  contain  no  description  of  his  own  office  as  a  prelate ; 
(c)  they  contain  full  and  explicit  directions  on  a  great  variety 
of  other  topics,  of  far  less  importance  than  the  office  which, 
according  to  Episcopacy,  was  to  constitute  the  WTJ  peculiarity 
of  the  church ;  and  not  a  word  respecting  his  brother  bishops 
then  existing,  or  any  intimation  that  such  an  order  of  men 
ever  icould  exist. 

In  regard  to  Titus,  we  proved,  (1)  That  he  was  left  in 
Crete  for  the  special  purpose  of  completing  a  work  which 
Paul  had  begun ;  (2)  that  Paul  gave  him  express  directions, 
when  he  had  done  that  to  come  to  him ;  and  (3)  that  he 
obeyed  the  command,  left  Crete,  and  became  the  travelling 
companion  of  Paul ;  and  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  reason 
to  suppose  that  he  ever  returned  to  Crete. 

In  regard  to  the  "  angels"  of  the  seven  churches,  we  showed 
that  the  whole  of  Dr.  Onderdonk's  argument  was  a  mere 
assumption,  that  there  was  an  inferior  body  of  the  "  clergy  at 
large;"  that  they  were  in  each  of  those  cities  more  churches 
than  one, — a  fact  which  should  be  proved,  not  assumed  ; — 
also,  that  the  style  of  the  address  to  the  ((  angel,"  was  that 
of  the  u  angel  of  the  church,"  evidently  referring  to  an  indivi 
dual  congregation,  and  not  to  such  a  group  of  churches  as 
constitute  a  modern  diocese ;  and  that  the  application  of  the 
term  ((  angel,"  to  the  pastor  of  a  single  church,  was  more 
obvious,  and  much  the  more  probable  supposition,  than  to 
a  the  formal,  unfrequent,  and  in  many  instances,  stately  and 
pompous  visitations  of  a  diocesan  bishop." 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  291 

To  this  argument  there  is  no  reply,  except  by  an  assump 
tion  that  Timothy  was  bishop  of  Ephesus;  that  the  same 
thing  must  be  presumed  to  exist  in  the  year  96 ;  and  that 
the  "elders"  at  Ephesus  being  there  also,  and  being  ministers, 
any  direction  to  the  "angel/'  must  suppose  that  he  was  supe 
rior  to  the  presbyters.  (Answer,  p.  17.)  Now  the  whole  of 
this  argument  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  the  elders  at 
Ephesus  were  ordained  ministers  of  the  gospel,  a  distinct  rank 
of  the  clergy,  and  sustaining  the  same  office  as  the  "  second 
order"  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  But  this  is  assuming  the 
very  point  in  debate.  In  our  review,  we  showed,  (p.  232,) 
that  all  the  facts  in  the  case  of  the  ciders  at  Ephesus  (Acts 
xx.  IT,  etc.)  are  met  by  the  supposition  that  they  were 
ruling  elders,  or  persons  appointed  to  govern,  guide,  and 
secure,  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  church.  Our  argument 
is,  (1.)  That  Dr.  Onderdonk  admits,  that  the  word  rendered 
"  feed,"  (xoi/j.atvetv,')  may  mean  to  rule,  (Tract,  pp.  24,  37.) 
(2.)  That  the  idea  of  ruling  is  the  one  which  is  there  specifi 
cally  dwelt  on.  That  he  directs  them  to  "  feed,"  or  exercise 
the  office  of  a  shepherd  over  them, — that  is,  to  guard,  defend, 
provide  for  them,  as  a  shepherd  does  in  the  care  of  his  flock. 
He  directs  them  to  watch  against  the  grievous  wolves  which 
should  come  in,  and  against  those  who  should  rise  up  from 
among  themselves,  to  secure  parties,  etc.  (3.)  There  is  no 
counsel  given  them  about  the  proper  mode  of  administering 
the  sacraments,  the  peculiar  duty  of  the  "  second  order"  of 
clergy.  (4.)  There  is  no  expression  of  lamentation  that  they 
had  not  a  prelatical  bishop;  or  any  intimation  that  they 
should  soon  be  furnished  with  one.  (5.)  It  is  evidently  im 
plied  that  the  number  of  these  elders  was  considerable.  They 
are  addressed  as  such;  and  yet  they  are  addressed  as  in 
charge  of  one  "  flock,"  over  which  they  had  been  placed. 
Now  it  is  incredible  that  any  considerable  body  of  the 
"  second  order  of  clergy"  should  have  been  ordained  in  an 


292  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

infant  church  like  Ephesus.  And  it  is  equally  incredible, 
that  if  Paul  had  so  ordained  them,  he  should  have  set  them 
over  one  flock,  in  a  single  city, — collegiate  "  rectors"  in  a 
single  church  in  Ephesus, — under  a  "  diocesan"  also,  of  the 
single  "  flock,"  or  church ;  a  diocesan  not  then  present,  and 
concerning  whom  not  the  slightest  hint  was  dropped  by  Paul, 
either  of  lamentation  or  promise.  So  that,  on  the  whole,  one 
knows  not  at  which  to  be  most  surprised — the  number  of 
assumptions  indispensable  to  the  purpose  of  "  enthroning" 
the  Bishop  Timothy  at  Ephesus,  or  the  singular  coolness  with 
which  Episcopalians  urge  all  these  assumptions,  as  if  they 
were  grave  matters  of  historical  record. 

In  reference  to  the  term  "angel/'  as  used  in  the  Apoca 
lypse,  we  have  only  to  remark,  further,  that  the  interpretation 
which  makes  it  refer  to  a  prelatical  bishop,  is  so  unnatural 
and  forced,  that  Episcopalians  are,  many  of  them,  themselves 
compelled  to  abandon  it.  Thus  Stillingfleet,  than  whom 
an  abler  man,  and  one  whose  praise  is  higher  in  Episcopal 
churches,  is  not  to  be  found  among  the  advocates  of  prelacy, 
says  of  these  angels  :  "  If  many  things  in  the  epistles  be  de 
noted  to  the  angels,  but  yet  so  as  to  concern  the  whole  body, 
then,  of  necessity,  the  angel  must  be  taken  as  a  representative 
of  the  whole  body;  and  then,  why  may  not  the  word  angel 
be  taken  by  way  of  representation  of  the  body  itself,  either 
of  the  whole  church,  or,  which  is  far  more  probable,  of  the 
consessorsj  or  order  of  presbyters  in  that  church  ?  We  see 
what  miserable,  unaccountable  arguments  those  are,  which 
are  brought  for  any  kind  of  government,  from  metaphorical 
or  ambiguous  expressions,  or  names  promiscuously  used." — 
Irenicum. 

In  regard  to  this  second  point,  which  it  is  incumbent  on 
Episcopalians  to  make  out,  we  are  now  prepared  to  estimate 
the  force  of  these  arguments.  The  case  stands  thus : — 
(1.)  There  is  no  command  in  the  New  Testament  to  the 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  293 

apostles  to  transmit  the  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office. 
If  there  had  been,  the  industry  of  Dr.  Onderdonk  would  have 
called  it  to  our  attention.  If  the  peculiarity  of  the  office  was 
to  be  transmitted,  it  was  required  that  such  a  command  should 
be  given.  (2.)  There  is  no  affirmation  that  it  would  be  thus 
transmitted.  If  there  had  been,  Dr.  Onderdonk' s  Tract  would 
not  have  been  so  barren  on  this  point.  And  we  ask  him 
whether  it  is  credible  that  the  apostles  were  bishops  of  a 
superior  order,  and  that  it  was  designed  that  all  the  church 
should  be  subject  to  an  order  of  men  "  superior  in  ministerial 
rank  and  power/'  deriving  their  authority  from  the  apostles ; 
and  yet  not  the  slightest  command  thus  to  transmit  it,  and 
not  the  slightest  hint  that  it  would  be  clone  ?  We  say  again, 
Credo  t  Judge  us  Apdlal  (3.)  It  was  impossible  that  the 
peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  should  be  transmitted.  We 
have  shown,  not  by  assumptions,  but  by  a  large  array  of  pas 
sages  of  Scripture,  what  that  peculiarity  was,*-- to  bear  witness 
to  the  great  events  which  went  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah.  We  have  been  met  in  this  proof  by  the  calm  and 
dignified  observation  that  this  was  a  a  showy"  argument;  and 
we  now  affirm  that  the  peculiarity  of  that  office,  as  specified 
by  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  chosen  apostles,  by  Paul,  and  by  the 
whole  college,  COULD  NOT  be  transmitted ;  that  no  bishop  is, 
or  can  be  a  iritnrss,  in  the  sense  and  for  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  originally  designated.  (4.)  We  have  examined  the 
case  of  Timothy,  of  Titus,  and  of  the  angels  of  the  churches, 
— the  slender  basis  on  which  the  fabric  of  Episcopal  preten 
sion  has  been  reared.  We  now  affirm,  (5.)  That,  should  we 
admit  all  that  Episcopalians  claim,  on  each  of  these  points, 
there  is  not  the  slightest  proof,  as  a  matter  of  historical 
record,  that  the  Episcopal  office  has  been  transmitted  from 
prelate  to  prelate ;  but  that  the  pretended  line  has  been  often 
broken,  and  that  no  jury  would  give  a  verdict  to  the  amount 
of  five  dollars,  on  proof  so  slender  as  can  be  adduced  for  the 

25* 


294  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

uninterrupted  succession  of  prelates.  As  satisfactory  evidence 
on  this  point,  we  repeat  the  following  passage,  contained  in 
the  September  number  of  this  journal : 

"  We  are  informed  by  many  ancient  historians,  and  very  ex 
pressly  by  Lode,  in  his  famous  Ecclesiastical  History,  '  that  at  the 
request  of  Oswald,  King  of  Northumberland,  certain  presbyters  came 
(in  the  seventh  century)  from  Scotland  into  England,  and  ordained 
bishops  ;  that  the  abbot,  and  other  presbyters  of  the  island  of  Ily, 
sent  Aydan  for  this  express  purpose,  declaring  him  to  be  worthy 
of  the  office  of  bishop,  and  that  he  ought  to  be  sent  to  instruct 
the  unbelieving  and  the  unlearned.'  He  informs  us,  that  '  those 
presbyters  ordained  him  and  sent  him  to  England  on  this  errand  ; 
and  that  Finan,  sent  from  the  same  monastery  in  the  same  island, 
succeeded  him  in  the  episcopal  office,  after  having  been  ordained  by 
the  Scottish  presbyters.' 

"  Upon  this  testimony  of  Bede,  Baxter  remarks:  'You  will  find 
that  the  English  had  a,  succession  of  bishops  by  the  Scottish  presbyter's 
ordination;  and  there  is  no  mention  in  Bede  of  any  dislike  or  scruple 
of  the  lawfulness  of  this  course.  The  learned  Dr.  Doddridge  refers 
us  to  Bede  and  Jones  to  substantiate  the  fact  that  '  the  ordination 
of  English  bishops  cannot  be  traced  up  to  the  Church  of  Rome  as  its 
original ;  that  in  the  year  668,  the  successors  of  Austin,  the  monk, 
(who  came  over  A.  D.  596,)  being  almost  extinct,  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  bishops  were  of  Scottish  ordination,  by  Aydan  and  Finan, 
who  came  out  of  the  Culdee  monastery  of  Columbanus,  and  were  no 
more  than  presbyters.'' 

11  And  is  it  verily  so,  that  the  Episcopal  blood  was  thus  early 
and  extensively  contaminated  in  England  ?  Is  it  verily  so,  that 
when  the  effects  of  pious  Austin's  labours  had  become  almost  im 
perceptible,  the  sinking  church  was  revived  again,  by  sending  to 
Scotland  or  presbyters  to  come  and  ordain  a  multitude  of  bishops  ? 
Then  it  is  verily  a  fact  that  presbyterian  ordination  is  one  of  the 
sturdiest  pillars  that  support  the  vast  fabric  of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land.  No  matter  if  only  ten  bishops  Avere  thus  ordained,  the  con 
tamination  (if  it  be  one)  having  been  imparted  more  than  eleven 
hundred  years  ago,  has  had  a  long  time  to  diffuse  itself,  and  doubtless 
has  diffused  itself  so  extensively  from  bishop  to  bishop,  that  not  a 
single  prelate  in  Great  Britain  can  prove  that  he  has  escaped  the 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  295 

infection.  For  what  oue  of  them  can  tell,  if  he  was  not  consecrated 
by  bishops,  who  were  themselves  consecrated  by  bishops,  and  they 
by  other  bishops,  to  whom  all  the  ordaining  power  they  ever  had, 
was  transmitted  from  the  presbyters  of  Scotland?  I5ut  this  is  not  the 
whole  of  the  evil.  As  no  one  bishop  can  trace  his  episcopal  pedi 
gree  farther  back,  perhaps,  than  two  or  three  centuries,  so  lie 
cannot  certainly  know  that  any  presbyter,  on  whose  head  he  has 
imposed  hands,  has  received  from  him  any  thing  more  than  pres- 
byterian  ordination.  Nor  is  this  all  the  evil.  The  Protestant  Epis 
copal  bishops  and  presbyters  in  America  are  in  the  same  plight ; 
for  I  am  told  that  all  their  authority  came  from  England.  But  as 
the  English  bishops  who  gave  it  to  them,  could  not  I  hen,  and  cannot 
now,  certainly,  tell  whence  it  came,  so  who  knows  but  all  the  Epis 
copal  clergy  in  the  United  States  of  America  are  originally  indebted 
to  the  hands  of  the  Elder  Ay  dan  and  Elder  Finan  for  all  their  minis 
terial  powers  ?  I  tremble  for  all  Protestant  Episcopal  churches 
on  both  continents,  if  Presbyterian  ordination  be  not  VALID  and 
SCRIPTURAL.'  :'  pp.  480,  487. 

One  point  more,  in  the  argument  for  Episcopacy,  remains. 
It  is,  that  none  Lut  prelates  ordained.  It  is  incumbent  on 
Episcopalians  to  prove  this,  as  essential  to  their  argument. 
For  if  presbyters  or  elders  exercised  tlie  office  of  ordaining, 
then  the  main  point  claimed  for  the  superiority  of  bishops 
is  unfounded.  We  aim,  therefore,  to  show  that  there  is  posi 
tive  proof  that  presbyters  did  ordain.  We  have  shown  in  the 
course  of  our  argument,  that  they  exercised  the  office  of  disci 
pline,  one  of  the  things  claimed  peculiarly  for  bishops ;  we 
now  proceed  to  show  that  the  office  of  ordaining  was  one 
which  was  intrusted  to  them,  and  which  they  exercised.  If 
this  point  be  made  out,  it  follows  still  further,  that  the 
peculiarity  of  the  office  of  the  apostles  was  not  that  they 
ordained,  and  that  the  clergy  of  the  New  Testament  are  not 
divided  into  "  three  orders,"  but  are  equal  in  ministerial  rank 
and  power.  The  argument  is  indeed  complete  without  this ; 
for,  unless  Episcopalians  can  show,  by  positive  proof,  the 
superiority  of  their  bishops  to  the  right  of  ordination  and 


296  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

discipline,  the  parity  of  the  clergy  follows  as  a  matter  of 
course. 

The  writer  of  these  articles  is  a  Presbyterian.  But  the 
argument  does  not  require  that  he  should  go  largely  into  the 
proof  of  his  own  views  on  church  polity.  The  object  is  to 
disprove  Episcopacy.  If  this  is  disproved,  it  follows  that  the 
clergy  are  on  an  equality.  If  it  is  shown  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  New  Testament  is,  that  presbyters  were  to  ordain,  it  is  a 
sufficient  disposal  of  the  "feeble  claims  of  lay-ordination," 
and  of  all  other  claims.  It  will  follow  that  a  valid  ordination 
is  that  which  is  performed  in  accordance  with  the  direction 
that  presbyters  should  ordain.  What  particular  churches, 
besides  the  Presbyterian,  accord  in  their  practice  with  the 
direction,  it  is  not  our  business  to  inquire.  It  is  sufficient  for 
our  purpose  that  the  Presbyterian  churches  accord  with  that 
requirement,  and  follow  the  direction  of  the  New  Testament, 
in  the  ordination  of  their  ministry  by  presbyters,  and  in  their 
ministerial  equality.  This  is  all  the  reply  that  is  necessary  to 
the  train  of  reflections  in  the  "Answer,"  (pp.  5,  6.)  We 
have  seen,  also,  that  Episcopal  ordination  is  valid,  not  because 
it  is  performed  by  a  prelate,  but  because  it  is,  in  fact,  a  mere 
Presbyterian  performance. 

In  proof  of  the  point  now  before  us,  therefore,  we  adduce 
1  Tim.  iv.  14:  "Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which 
was  given  thee  by  prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
of  the  presbytery."  Of  this  passage,  which,  to  the  common 
sense  of  mankind,  affirms  the  very  thing  under  discussion,  it 
is  evidently  material  for  Episcopalians  to  dispose;  or  their 
claims  to  exclusive  rights  and  privileges  are  forever  destroyed. 
We  shall,  therefore,  examine  the  passage,  and  then  notice  the 
objections  to  its  obvious  and  common-sense  interpretation, 
alleged  by  Dr.  Onderclonk. 

Wre  observe,  then,  (1.)  That  the  translation  of  the  passage 
is  fairly  made.  Much  learned  criticism  has  been  exhausted, 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  297 

to  very  little  purpose,  by  Episcopalians,  to  show  .that  a  differ 
ence  existed  between  "  with/'  (/'-"«,)  in  this  place,  and 
"by,"  (&«,)  in  2  Tim.  i.  6.  It  has  been  said  "that  such  a 
distinction  may  justly  be  regarded  as  intimating  that  the 
virtue  of  the  ordaining  act  flowed  from  Paul,  while  the  pres 
bytery,  or  the  rest  of  that  body,  if  he  were  included  in  it, 
expressed  only  consent."  (Tract,  p.  22.)  But  it  has  never 
been  shown,  nor  can  it  be,  that  the  preposition  u  with"  does 
not  fairly  express  the  force  of  the  original.  The  same  obser 
vation  may  be  applied  to  the  word  "  presbytery,"  (-pzffpurs- 
fAov.')  It  denotes  properly  a  body,  or  assembly  of  elders,  or 
presbyters.  In  Luke  xxii.  66,  it  is  applied  to  the  body  of 
elders  which  composed  the  Sanhedrim,  or  great  council  of  the 
Jews,  and  is  translated  "  the  elders  of  the  people/'  (TO  -xpsff- 
pvripiov  TOO  /aoD.)  See  also  Acts  xxii.  5 :  "  The  estate  of  the 
elders."  The  word  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testa 
ment,  except  in  the  passage  under  consideration.  Dr.  Onder- 
donk  has  endeavoured  to  show  that  it  means  <(  the  office  to 
which  Timothy  was  ordained,  not  the  persons  who  ordained 
him ;  so  that  the  passage  would  read,  l  with  the  laying  on  of 
hands  to  confer  the  presbyter  ate,'  or  presbytership,  or  the 
clerical  office  /'  and  appeals  to  the  authority  of  Grotius  and 
Calvin  in  the  case.  (Tract,  pp.  19,  20.)  In  regard  to  this 
interpretation,  we  observe,  (1.)  That  if  this  be  correct,  then 
it  follows  that  Timothy  was  not  an  apostle,  but  an  elder, — he 
was  ordained  to  the  office  of  the  presbyter  ate,  or  the  eldership. 
Timothy,  then,  is  to  be  laid  out  of  the  college  of  the  apostles, 
and  reduced  to  the  humble  office  of  a  presbyter.  When  pre 
lacy  is  to  be  established  by  showing  that  the  office  of  apostles 
was  transmitted,  Timothy  is  an  apostle ;  when  it  is  necessary 
to  make  another  use  of  this  same  man,  it  appears  that  he  was 
ordained  to  the  presbyter  ate  j  and  Timothy  becomes  a  humble 
presbyter.  But  (2)  if  the  word  "  presbytery"  (xpefffivTfytov) 
here  means  the  presbyterate,  and  not  the  persons,  then  it 


298  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

doubtless  means  the  same  in  the  two  other  places  where  it 
occurs.  In  Luke  xxii.  66,  we  shall  receive  the  information, 
that  "the  presbyterate/'  "the  presbytership,"  or  "the  cleri 
cal  office"  of  the  people, — that  is,  the  body  by  which  the 
people  conferred  "  the  presbyterate," — came  together  with  the 
scribes,  etc.  In  Acts  xxii.  5,  we  shall  be  informed,  that  "  the 
presbyterate,"  or  the  "  clerical  office,"  would  bear  witness 
with  the  high-priest  to  the  life  of  Paul.  Such  absurdities 
show  the  propriety  of  adhering,  in  interpretation,  to  the 
obvious  and  usual  meaning  of  the  words.  (3.)  The  word  is 
fixed  in  its  meaning  in  the  usage  of  the  church.  Suicer 
(Thesaurus)  says,  it  denotes  "'an  assembly,  congregation,  and 
college  of  presbyters  in  the  Christian  church."  In  all  the 
instances  which  he  quotes  from  Theodoret,  (on  1  Tim.  iv.  14,) 
from  Chrysostom,  (Homil.  xiii.  on  this  Epistle,)  from  Theo- 
phylact,  (in  locum,)  and  from  Ignatius,  (Epis.  to  Antioch  and 
to  the  Trallians,)  there  is  not  the  slightest  evidence  that  it  is 
ever  used  to  denote  the  office,  instead  of  the  persons,  of  the 
presbytery.  (4.)  As  the  opinion  of  Grotius  is  referred  to  by 
Dr.  Onderdonk,  we  beg  leave  to  quote  here  a  passage  from  his 
commentary  on  this  place  : — "  The  custom  was,  that  the  pres 
byters  who  were  present  placed  their  hands  on  the  head  of  the 
candidate,  at  the  same  time  with  the  presiding  officer  of  their 
body,"  cum  ccetus  sui  principe.  "  Where  the  apostles,  or 
their  assistants,  were  not  present,  ordination  took  place  by  the 
presiding  officer  (prsesidc?n)  of  their  body,  with  the  concur 
rence  of  the  presbytery."  We  were  particularly  surprised 
that  the  authority  of  CALVIN  should  have  been  adduced,  as 
sanctioning  that  interpretation,  which  refers  to  the  word  pres 
bytery  to  office,  and  not  to  persons.  His  words  are  :  "  They 
who  interpret  presbytery,  here,  as  a  collective  noun,  denoting 
the  college  of  presbyters,  are,  in  my  opinion,  right."  Our 
first  argument,  then,  is,  that  the  word  "  presbytery," 
denoting  the  persons  who  composed  the  lody  or  college 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  299 

of  elders,  is  the  proper,  obvious,  and  established  sense  of  the 
passage. 

(2.)  It  is  evident  from  this  passage,  that  whoever  or  what 
ever  else  might  have  been  engaged  ill  this  transaction,  a 
material  part  of  it  belonged  to  the  presbytery  or  eldership 
concerned.  "Neglect  not  the  <jift  that  -is  in  thw,  irhtch  icas 
given  tliee  ly  prophecy;  WITH  THE  LAYING  ox  OF  THE 
HANDS  OF  THE  PRESBYTERY."  Here  it  is  evident  that  the 
presbytery  bore  a  material  part  in  the  transaction.  Paul  says 
that  the  gift  was  in  Timothy,  was  given  him  by  prophecy^ 
with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery.  That  is, 
that  prophecy,  or  some  prophecies  relating  to  Timothy,  (comp. 
1  Tim.  i.  18,  "  according  to  the  prophecies  which  went  before 
thee/')  had  designated  him  as  a  proper  person  for  the  minis 
try,  or  that  he  would  be  employed  in  the  ministry  •  but  the 
prophecy  did  not  invest  him  with  the  office — did  not  confer 
the  gift.  That  was  done — that  formal  appointment  fulfilling 
the  prophecy — by  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  presby 
tery.  It  was  necessary  that  that  act  of  the  presbytery  should 
thus  concur  with  the  prophecy,  or  Timothy  had  remained  a 
layman.  The  presbyters  laid  their  hands  on  him;  and  he 
thus  received  his  office.  As  the  prophecy  made  no  part 
of  his  ordination,  it  follows  that  he  was  ordained  by  the 
presbytery. 

(8.)  The  statement  here  is  just  one  which  would  be  given 
now  in  a  Presbyterian  ordination;  it  is  not  one  which  would 
be  made  in  an  Episcopalian  ordination.  A  Presbyterian  would 
choose  these  very  words  to  give  an  account  of  an  ordination  in 
his  church ;  an  Episcopalian  would  not.  The  former  speaks 
of  ordination  by  a  presbytery ;  the  lajter  of  ordination  by  a 
bishop.  The  former  can  use  the  account  of  the  Apostle  Paul 
here,  as  applicable  to  ordination,  without  explanations,  com 
ments,  new  versions,  and  criticisms ;  the  latter  cannot.  The 
passage  speaks  to  the  common  understanding  of  men  in  favour 


300  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

of  Presbyterian  ordination — of  the  action  of  a  presbytery  in 
the  case  :  it  never  speaks  the  language  of  Episcopacy,  even 
after  all  the  torture  to  which  it  may  be  subjected  by  Episco 
pal  criticism.  The  passage  is  one,  too,  which  is  not  like 
the  "apostles  and  elders/'  "the  apostles,  and  elders,  and 
brethren," — the  only  direct  passage  on  which  Episcopacy 
relies — a  passage  which  has  no  perceptible  connection  with  the 
case;  but  it  is  one  that  speaks  on  the  very  subject;  which 
relates  to  the  exact  transaction ;  and  which  makes  a  positive 
affirmation  of  the  very  thing  in  debate. 

(4.)  The  supposition  that  this  was  not  a  presbyterial  tran 
saction  renders  the  passage  unmeaning.  Here  was  present  a 
body  of  men  called  a  presbytery.  We  ask  the  Episcopalian, 
why  they  were  present  ?  The  answer  is,  not  for  the  purpose 
of  ordination,  but  for  "  concurrence. "  Paul,  the  bishop,  is 
the  sole  ordainer.  We  see  Timothy  bowing  before  the  pres 
bytery.  We  see  them  solemnly  impose  their  hands  on  him. 
We  ask,  Why  is  this?  "Not  for  the  purpose  of  ordination/' 
the  Episcopalian  replies,  "  but  for  '  concurrence/  Paid  is  the 
ordainer/'  But,  we  ask,  Had  they  no  share  in  the  ordina 
tion  ?  "  None  at  all."  Had  they  no  participation  in  con 
ferring  the  gift  designated  by  prophecy?  "None  at  all." 
Why  then  present?  Why  did  they  impose  hands?  For 
"concurrence/'  for  form,  for  nothing!  It  was  an  empty 
pageantry,  in  which  they  were  mistaken,  when  supposing 
that  their  act  had  something  to  do  in  conferring  the  gift; 
for  their  presence  really  meant  nothing,  and  the  whole  trans 
action  could  as  well  have  been  performed  without  as  with 
them. 

(5.)  If  this  ordination  was  the  joint  act  of  the  presbytery, 
we  have  here  a  complete  scriptural  account  of  a  Presbyterian 
ordination.  It  becomes,  then,  a  very  material  question,  how 
the  Episcopalians  dispose  of  this  passage  of  Scripture.  Their 
difficulties  and  embarrassments  on  this  subject  will  still  farther 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  301 

confirm  the  obvious  interpretation  wliicli  Presbyterians  suggest 
and  bold.  Tbese  difficulties  and  embarrassments  arc  thus  pre 
sented  by  Dr.  Onderdonk  : 

He  first  doubts  whether  this  transaction  was  an  ordina 
tion.  (Tract,  pp.  18-19.)  To  this  we  answer,  (1)  That,  if 
it  were  not,  then  there  is  no  account  that  Timothy  was  ever 
ordained;  (2)  that  there  is  no  specific  work  mentioned  in 
the  history  of  the  apostles,  to  which  Timothy  was  desig 
nated,  unless  it  was  ordination;  (8)  that  it  is  the  obvious 
and  fair  meaning  of  the  passage;  (4)  that  if  this  does  not 
refer  to  ordination,  it  would  be  easy  to  apply  the  same  denial 
to  all  the  passages  which  speak  of  the  "  imposition  of  hands," 
and  to  show  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  ordination  to 
the  ministry  in  any  case;  (5)  that  it  accords  with  the  com 
mon  usage  of  the  term  "  imposition  of  hands,"  (t/rctf^n?  TWV 
/stpwv,')  in  the  New  Testament.  The  phrase  occurs  but  four 
times  :  Acts  viii.  18;  1  Tim.  iv.  14;  2  Tim.  i.  6;  Hcb.  vi.  2. 
In  all  these  places  it  evidently  denotes  conferring  some  gift, 
office,  or  favour  described  by  the  act.  In  2  Tim.  i.  G,  it 
denotes,  by  the  acknowledgment  of  all  Episcopalians,  ordina 
tion  to  the  ministry.  Why  should  it  not  here  ?  (6.)  If,  as 
Dr.  Onderdonk  supposes,  it  refers  to  "  an  inspired  designa 
tion  of  one  already  in  the  ministry,  to  a  particular  field  of 
duty/'  (Tract,  p.  19,)  then,  («)  we  ask,  why  we  have  no 
other  mention  of  this  transaction  ?  (6)  we  ask,  how  it  is  to 
be  accounted  for  that  Paul,  while  here  evidently  referring 
Timothy  to  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  ministerial 
office  in  general,  should  not  refer  to  his  ordination,  but  to 
a  designation  to  a  particular  field  of  labour?  His  argu 
ment  to  Timothy,  on  such  a  supposition,  would  be  this  : 
"  Your  office  of  minister  of  the  gospel  is  one  that  is  exceed 
ingly  important.  A  bishop  must  be  blameless,  vigilant, 
sober,  of  good  behaviour,  given  to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach, 
not  given  to  wine,  etc.  (chap,  iii.)  In  order  to  impress  this 
VOL.  I.  26 


302  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

more  deeply  on  you,  to  fix  these  great  duties  in  your  mind, 
I  refer  you — not  to  the  solemnity  of  your  ordination  vows — 
but  I  solemnly  remind  you  of  '  an  inspired  separation  of  one 
already  in  the  ministry  to  a  particular  field  of  duty.'  " 
We  need  only  observe  here,  that  this  is  not  a  strain  of  argu 
ment  that  looks  like  Paul.  But, 

Secondly.  Dr.  Onderdonk  supposes  that  this  was  not  a 
Presbyterian  ordination.  (Tract,  pp.  19-21.)  His  first  sup 
position  is,  that  the  word  "presbytery"  does  not  mean  persons, 
but  the  office,  (p.  19.)  This  we  have  already  noticed.  He 
next  supposes,  (pp.  20,  21,)  that,  if  "the  presbytery"  here 
means  not  the  office  given  to  Timothy,  but  a  body  of  elders, 
that  it  cannot  be  shown  "of  whom  this  ordaining  presbytery 
was  composed/'  (p.  21.)  And  he  then  proceeds  to  state  that 
there  are  "seven  modes"  in  which  this  "  presb}Ttery"  might 
be  composed.  It  might  be  made  up  of  "ruling  elders  ;"  or,  it 
might  be  composed  of  the  "  grade  called  presbyters ;"  or,  as 
Peter  and  John  called  themselves  "elders/7  it  might  be  made 
up  of  "apostles;"  or,  "there  may  have  been  ruling  elders 
and  presbyters;  or  presbyters  and  one  or  more  apostles;  or, 
ruling  elders  and  one  or  more  of  the  apostles ;  or,  ruling 
elders,  and  presbyters,  and  apostles,"  (p.  21.)  Now,  as  Dr. 
Onderdonk  has  not  informed  us  which  of  these  modes  he  pre 
fers,  we  are  left  merely  to  conjecture.  We  may  remark  on 
these  suppositions,  (1.)  That  they  are  mere  suppositions. 
There  is  not  the  shadow  of  proof  to  support  them.  The 
word  "presbytery" — "a  body  of  elders" — does  not  appear  to 
be  such  a  difficult  word  of  interpretation,  as  to  make  it  neces 
sary  to  envelop  it  in  so  much  mist,  in  order  to  understand  it. 
Dr.  Onderdonk' s  argument  here  is  such  as  a  man  always  em 
ploys,  when  he  is  pressed  by  difficulties  which  he  cannot  meet, 
and  when  he  throws  himself,  as  it  were,  into  a  labyrinth,  in 
the  hope  that  amid  its  numerous  passages,  he  may  escape 
detection  and  evade  pursuit.  (2.)  If  this  "  body  of  elders" 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  303 

was  made  up  of  "ruling  elders/'  or,  "of  the  grade  called 
presbyters/'  then  the  argument  of  Episcopacy  is  overthrown. 
Here  is  an  instance,  on  either  supposition,  of  Presbyterian 
ordination,  which  is  fatal  to  the  claims  that  bishops  only 
ordain.  Or,  if  it  be  supposed  that  this  was  not  an  ordination, 
but  "an  inspired  separation  of  one  already  in  the  ministry  to 
a  particular  field  of  duty,"  it  is  an  act  equally  fatal  to  the 
claim  of  prelates  to  the  general  "  superintendence"  of  the 
church;  -since  it  is  manifest  that  these  "elders"  took  upon 
themselves  the  functions  of  this  office,  and  designated  "  the 
bishop  of  Ephesus"  to  his  field  of  labour.  Such  a  transaction 
would  scarcely  meet  with  Episcopal  approbation  in  the  nine 
teenth  century. 

But  in  regard  to  the  other  suppositions, — that  a  part  of  all 
the  "  presbytery"  was  composed  of  apostles, — we  remark  : 
(1.)  That  it  is  a  merely  gratuitous  supposition.  There  is  not 
an  instance  in  which  the  term  "  presbytery/'  or  "  body  of 
elders,"  is  applied,  in  the  New  Testament,  to  the  collective 
body  of  the  apostles.  (2.)  On  the  supposition  that  the 
"  presbytery"  was  composed  entirely  of  apostles,  then  we  ask, 
how  it  happens  that,  in  2  Tim.  i.  6,  Paul  appropriates  to  him 
self  a  power,  which  belonged  to  every  one  of  them  in  as  full  a 
right  as  to  him  ?  How  came  they  to  surrender  their  power 
into  the  hands  of  an  individual  ?  Was  it  the  character  of 
Paul  thus  to  assume  authority  which  did  not  belong  to  him  ? 
We  have  seen  already  how,  on  the  supposition  of  the  Episco 
palian,  he -superseded  Bishop  Timothy  in  the  exercise  of  disci 
pline,  in  Corinth  and  in  his  own  diocese  at  Ephcsus:  we  have 
now  an  instance  in  which  he  claims  all  the  virtue  of  the 
ordaining  power,  where  his  fellow-apostles  must  have  been 
equally  concerned. 

But  if  a  part  only  of  this  "presbytery"  was  composed  of 
apostles,  and  the  remainder  presbyters,  either  ruling  elders  or 
"  the  second  grade,"  we  would  make  the  following  inquiries  : 


304  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

(1.)  Was  he  ordained  as  a  j_>rdaic?  So  the  Episcopalians 
with  one  voice  declare, — prelate  of  Ephcsus.  Then  it  follows 
that  Timothy,  a  prelate,  was  set  apart  to  his  work  by  the 
imposition  of  the  hands  of  elders.  What  was  then  his  prela- 
tical  character?  Does  the  water  in  the  cistern  rise  higher 
than  the  fountain  ?  If  laymen  were  concerned,  Timothy  was 
a  layman  still.  If  presbyters,  Timothy  was  a  presbyter  still. 
And  thus  all  the  power  of  prelates,  from  him  of  Rome  down 
ward,  has  come  through  the  hands  of  humble  presbyters, — • 
just  as  we  believe,  and  just  as  history  affirms.  (2.)  Was  he 
ordained  as  a  presbyter  ?  Then  his  Episcopal  character,  so 
far  as  it  depends  on  his  ordination,  is  swept  away ;  and  thus 
we  have  not  a  solitary  instance  of  the  consecration  of  a  prelate 
in  all  the  New  Testament. 

Which  of  these  suppositions  of  Dr.  Onderdonk  he  is  dis 
posed  to  receive  as  the  true  one,  we  are  unable  to  say.  All 
of  them  cannot  be  true ;  and  whichever  he  chooses  is,  as  we 
have  seen,  equally  fatal  to  his  argument,  and  involves  a  refu 
tation  of  the  claims  of  prelacy. 

The  only  other  reply,  with  which  Dr.  Onderdonk  meets  the 
argument  for  Presbyterian  ordination,  from  this  passage,  is, 
by  the  supposition  that  the  virtue  of  the  ordaining  act  was 
derived  from  the  Apostle  Paul.  The  passage  on  which 
he  rests  the  argument  is,  (2  Tim.  i.  6:)  "That  thou  stir 
up  the  gift  of  God  which  is  in  thee,  by  the  putting  on 
of  MY  hands."  On  this  passage  we  observe,  (1.)  Paul  does 
not  deny  that  other  hands  were  also  imposed  on  Timothy ; 
nor  that  his  authority  was  derived  also  from  others,  in  con 
junction  with  himself.  (2.)  That,  by  the  supposition  of 
Episcopalians,  as  well  as  Presbyterians,  other  hands  were,  in 
fact,  imposed  on  him.  (3.)  It  was  perfectly  natural  for  Paul, 
in  consequence  of  the  relation  which  Timothy  sustained  to 
him,  as  his  adopted  son,  (1  Tim  i.  2 ;)  as  being  selected 
by  him  for  the  ministry,  (Acts  xvi.  3 ;)  and  as  being  his 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  305 

companion  in  tlic  ministry  and  in  travels,  to  remind  him, 
near  the  close  of  his  own  life,  (2  Tim.  iv.  6,)  that  he  had 
been  solemnly  set  apart  to  the  work  by  himself, — to  bring  his 
oic n  agency  into  full  view, — in  order  to  stimulate  and  encou 
rage  him.  That  Paul  had  a  part  in  the  act  of  the  ordination, 
we  admit;  that  others  also  had  a  part, — the  u  presbytery," — 
we  have  proved.  (4.)  The  expression,  which  is  here  used,  is 
just  such  as  an  aged  Presbyterian  minister  would  now  use,  if 
directing  a  farewell  letter  to  a  son  in  the  ministry.  lie 
would  remind  him,  as  Paul  does  in  this  Epistle,  (2  Tim. 
iv.  G,)  that  he  was  about  to  leave  the  ministry  and  the  world; 
and,  if  he  wished  to  impress  his  mind  in  a  peculiarly  tender 
manner,  he  would  remind  him,  also,  that  he  took  part  in  his 
ordination;  that,  under  his  own  hands,  he  had  been  desig 
nated  to  the  work  of  the  ministry;  and  would  endeavour  to 
deepen  his  conviction  of  the  importance  and  magnitude  of  the 
work,  by  the  reflection  that  he  had  been  solemnly  set  apart  to 
it  by  a  father.  Yet  who  would  infer  from  this,  that  the  aged 
Presbyterian  would  wish  to  be  regarded  as  a  prelate? 

Dr.  Onderdonk  remarks  on  this  case,  (Tract,  p.  22,)  that, 
if  Paul  was  engaged  in  the  transaction,  it  was  the  work  of  an 
apostle,  and  was  "  an  apostolic  ordination/7  We  admit  that 
it  was  an  "  apostolic  ordination  ;';  but  when  will  Episcopalians 
learn  to  suppose  it  possible,  that  an  "apostolic  ordination" 
was  not  a  prdatical  ordination  ?  Did  not  Dr.  Onderdonk 
see  that  this  was  assuming  the  very  point  in  debate,  that 
the  peculiarity  of  the  apostolic  office  was  the  power  of  or- 
daiuiny?  We  reply,  further,  that  whoever  was  engaged  in 
it,  a  "  presbytery"  was  concerned,  and  it  was  a  Presbyterian 
ordination. 

We  have  now  considered  all  the  objections  that  have  been 
made  to  the  obvious  interpretation  of  this  passage;  and  we  are 
prepared  to  submit  it  to  any  candid  mind,  as  a  full  and  un 
qualified  statement  of  an  instance  of  Presbyterian  ordination, 

26* 


306  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

Whichever  of  the  half-dozen  suppositions — assuming  a  hue, 
chameleon-like,  from  the  nature  of  the  argument  to  be  refuted 
— which  Episcopalians  are  compelled  to  apply  to  the  passage, 
is  adopted,  we  have  seen  that  they  involve  them  in  all  the 
difficulties  of  an  unnatural  interpretation,  and  conduct  us,  by 
a  more  circuitous  route,  only  to  the  plain  and  common-sense 
exposition  of  the  passage,  as  decisive  in  favour  of  Presbyterian 
ordination. 

Having  thus  shown  that  there  was  one  Presbyterian  ordi 
nation,  in  the  case  of  Timothy,  claimed  by  Episcopalians  as  a 
prelate,  and  this,  too,  in  perhaps  the  only  instance  of  ordina 
tion  to  the  ministry  recorded  in  the  New  Testament ;  we  now 
proceed  to  adduce  the  case  of  a  cJiurcli  that  was  not  organized 
on  the  principles  of  Episcopalians,  with  three  orders  of  clergy. 
We  refer  to  the  church  at  Philippi.  "  Paul  and  Timothy, 
servants  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  all  the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus,  who 
are  at  Philippi,  with  the  bishops  and  deacons."  (aov  l-urxd- 
7:00;  xai  8tax6'soi~.')  In  regard  to  this  church,  we  make  the 
following  observations:  (1.)  It  was  organized  by  the  Apostle 
Paul  himself,  in  connection  with  Silas,  and  was,  therefore, 
on  the  truly  "primitive  and  apostolic"  plan.  (Acts  xvi.) 
(2.)  It  was  in  the  centre  of  a  large  territory,  the  capital  of 
Macedonia,  and  not  likely  to  be  placed  in  subjection  to  a 
diocesan  of  another  region.  (3.)  It  was  surrounded  by  other 
churches ;  as  we  have  express  mention  of  the  church  at  Thes- 
salonica  and  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  at  Berea,  (Acts  xvii.) 
(4.)  There  is  mention  made  of  but  two  orders  of  men.  What 
the  deacons  were,  we  know  from  the  appointment  in  Acts 
vi.  1-6.  They  were  designated,  not  to  preach,  but  to  take 
care  of  the  poor  members  of  the  church,  and  to  distribute  the 
alms  of  the  saints.  As  we  have  there,  in  the  original  appoint 
ment  of  the  office,  the  express  and  extended  mention  of  its 
functions,  we  are  to  infer  that  the  design  was  the  same  at 
Philippi.  If  we  admit,  however,  the  supposition  of  the  Epis- 


THE   EPISCOPAL   CONTROVERSY.  307 

copalians,  that  the  deacons  were  preachers,  it  will  not  at  all 
affect  our  argument.  The  other  class,  therefore,  the  u  bishops/' 
constitute  the  preaching  order,  or  the  clergy, — those  to  whom 
were  committed  the  preaching  of  the  word,  the  administration 
of  the  sacraments,  and  of  the  discipline  of  the  church.  Now, 
cither  these  bishops  were  prelates,  or  they  were  the  pastors, 
the  presltytcrs  of  the  church.  If  Episcopalians  choose  to  say 
that  they  were  prelates,  then  it  follows,  (a)  that  there  was 
a  plurality  of  such  prelates  in  the  same  diocese,  and  the  same 
city,  and  the  same  church  •  which  is  contrary  to  the  funda 
mental  idea  of  Episcopacy.  It  follows,  also,  (U)  that  there  is 
entirely  wanting,  in  this  church,  the  "  second  order"  of  clergy ; 
that  an  Episcopal  church  is  organized,  defective  in  one  of  the 
essential  grades,  with  an  appointment  of  a  body  of  prelates, 
without  presbyters;  that  is,  an  order  of  "superior"  men, 
designated  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  "priests"  who  had  no 
existence.  If  it  be  said  that  the  "  presbyters,"  or  "  second 
order,"  might  have  been  there,  though  Paul  did  not  expressly 
name  them,  then  we  are  presented  with  the  remarkable  fact, 
that  he  specifies  the  deacons,  an  inferior  order,  and  expresses 
to  them  his  Christian  salutations;  that  he  salutes  and  addresses 
also  the  saints,  and  yet  entirely  disregards  those  who  had  the 
special  pastoral  charge  of  the  church.  Paul  thus  becomes  a 
model  of  disrespect  and  incivility.  In  the  Epistles  to  Timothy, 
he  gives  him  directions  about  every  thing  else,  but  no  counsel 
about  his  brother  prelates :  in  the  epistles  to  the  churches,  he 
salutes  their  prelates  and  their  deacons,  but  becomes  utterly 
regardless  of  the  "second  order  of  clergy,"  the  immediate 
pastors  of  the  churches. 

But  if  our  Episcopal  brethren  prefer  to  say  that  the 
"  bishops,"  here,  mean,  not  prelates,  but  presbyters,  we,  so 
far,  shall  agree  with  them ;  and  then  it  follows,  (a)  That  here 
is  an  undeniable  instance  of  a  church,  or  rather  a  group  of 
churches,  large  enough  to  satisfy  the  desire  of  any  diocesan 


308  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

bishop  for  extended  jurisdiction,  organized  without  any  pre 
late.  None  is  mentioned  ]  and  there  are  but  two  orders  of 
men  to  whom  the  care  of  the  u  saints  at  Philippi"  is  intrusted. 
(6)  If  there  was  a  prelate  there,  then,  we  ask,  why  Paul  did 
not  refer  to  him,  with  affectionate  salutations  ?  Why  does 
he  refer  to  a  the  second  and  the  third  orders  of  clergy," 
without  the  slightest  reference  to  the  man  who  was  u  superior 
to  them  in  ministerial  rank  and  power?"  Was  Paul  jealous 
of  the  prelate  ?  or  have  we  here  another  instance  of  indecorum 
and  incivility  ?  (c)  If  they  had  had  a  prelate,  and  the  see 
was  now  vacant,  why  is  there  no  reference  to  this  fact  ?  why 
no  condolence  at  their  loss  ?  why  no  prayer  that  God  would 
send  them  a  man  to  enter  into  the  vacant  diocese  ?  (d)  Epis 
copalians  have  sometimes  felt  the  pressure  of  these  difficulties 
to  be  so  great,  that  they  have  supposed  the  prelate  to  have 
been  absent  when  this  Epistle  was  addressed  to  the  church  at 
Philippi ;  and,  that  this  was  the  reason  why  he  was  not 
remembered  in  the  salutation.  Of  this  solution,  we  observe 
only,  that,  like  some  other  of  their  arguments,  it  is  mere 
assumption.  And  even  granting  this  assumption,  it  is  an 
inquiry  of  not  very  easy  solution,  why  Paul  did  not  make 
sonic  reference  to  this  fact,  and  ask  their  prayers  for  the 
absent  prelate.  One  can  scarcely  help  being  forcibly  re 
minded,  by  the  ineffectual  efforts  of  Episcopalians  to  find  a 
prelate  at  Philippi,  of  a  remarkable  transaction  mentioned 
1  Kings  xviii.  27,  28,  to  which  we  need  only  refer  our  readers. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  if  a  single  church  is 
proved  to  have  been  organized  without  the  "  three  orders 
of  clergy,"  the  parity  of  the  ministry  is  made  out  by  apos 
tolic  appointment,  and  the  Episcopal  argument  is  at  an  end. 

We  may  add,  that  our  view  of  the  organization  of  the 
church  in  Philippi,  is  confirmed  by  an  examination  of  the 
organization  of  the  church  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood, 
in  Thessalonica.  In  the  two  epistles  which  Paul  directed  to 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  309 

that  church,  there  is  not  the  slightest  reference  to  any  prcla- 
tical  bishop;  there  is  no  mention  of  "  three  orders  of  clergy  /' 
there  is  no  hint  that  the  church  was  organized  on  that  plan. 
But  one  order  of  ministers  is  mentioned,  evidently  as  entitled 
to  the  same  respect,  and  as  on  an  entire  equality.  They  were 
men,  clearly  of  the  same  rank,  and  engaged  in  discharging  the 
functions  of  the  same  office  :  a  And  we  beseech  you,  brethren, 
to  know  them  which  labour  among  you,  and  are  over  you  in 
the  Lord,  and  admonish  you ;  and  to  esteem  them  very  highly 
in  love,  for  their  work's  sake."  1  Thess.  v.  12,  13.  Will  our 
Episcopal  friends  be  kind  enough  to  inform  us  why  there  is 
no  mention  of  the  prelate,  whether  present  or  absent? 

We  are  here  prepared  to  estimate  the  force  of  the  unde 
niable  fact  that  there  is  no  distinction  of  grade  or  rank  by  the 
name*  which  are  given  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the 
New  Testament.  It  is  admitted  by  Episcopalians  themselves 
that  the  names  bishop,  presbyter,  etc.  in  the  Bible,  do  not 
denote  those  ranks  of  church  officers  to  which  they  are  now 
applied,  but  are  given  indiscriminately  to  all.  On  this  point 
we  have  the  authority  of  Dr.  Onderdonk.  "  The  name 
'bishop/  "  says  he,  "which  now  designates  the  highest  grade 
of  the  ministry,  is  not  appropriated  to  this  office  in.  Scripture. 
That  name  is  given  to  the  middle  order,  or  presbyters ;  and 

ALL    THAT    WE    READ    IN  THE    NEW  TESTAMENT  CONCERNING 

'  BISHOPS,'  (including,  of  course,  the  words  '  overseers'  and 
'  oversight/  which  have  the  same  derivation,)  is  TO  BE 

REGARDED  AS  PERTAINING  TO  THIS  MIDDLE  GRADE."    (Tract, 

p.  12.)  "Another  irregularity  of  the  same  kind  occurs  in 
regard  to  the  word  '  elder.'  It  is  sometimes  used  for  a  minis 
ter,  or  clergyman  of  any  grade,  higher,  middle,  or  lower ;  but 
it  more  strictly  signifies  a  presbyter."  Tract,  p.  14. 

In  accordance  with  this  fact,  which  is  as  remarkable  as  it  is 
true,  we  have  seen  that  Peter  applies  to  himself  the  name 
of  presbyter,  and  puts  himself  on  a  level  with  other  presbyters : 


310  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

"  The  presbyters  which  are  among  you  I  exhort,  (not;  I  com 
mand,  or  enjoin,  as  a  prelate  would  do,)  who  am  also  a  pres 
byter."  1  Pet.  v.  1.  And  in  the  very  next  verse,  he  exhorts 
them  (the  ciders  or  presbyters)  to  "feed  the  flock  of  God, 
taking  the  oversight,  (i-Kr/.o-owrsq,  exercising  the  office  of 
bishop,)  not  by  constraint,"  etc. 

Now  let  these  conceded  facts  be  borne  in  mind.  The  term 
presbyter  is  applied  to  the  apostles  :  "  All  that  we  read  of  in 
the  New  Testament  concerning  '  bishops/  is  applied  to  the 
middle  grade."  The  apostles  address  each  other,  and  their 
brethren,  by  the  same  terms — by  no  words  or  names  that 
indicate  rank,  or  grade,  or  authority.  We  maintain  that  this 
fact  can  be  accounted  for,  only  on  the  supposition  that  they 
regarded  themselves  as  ministers,  as  on  a  level.  If  they 
meant  to  teach  that  one  class  was  superior  in  rank  and  power 
to  others,  we  maintain  that  they  would  not  have  used  terms 
always  confounding  such  distinctions,  and  always  proceeding 
on  the  supposition  that  they  were  on  an  equality.  It  will  not 
be  pretended  that  they  could  not  employ  terms  that  would 
have  marked  the  various  grades.  For  if  the  term  "  bishop" 
can  now  do  it,  it  could  have  done  it  then ;  if  the  term  presby 
ter  can  now  be  used  to  denote  "  the  middle  grade,"  it  could 
then  have  been  so  used.  We  maintain,  too,  that  if  such  had 
been  their  intention,  they  would  have  thus  employed  those 
terms.  That  the  sacred  writers  were  capable  of  using  lan 
guage  definitely,  Dr.  Onderdonk  will  not  doubt.  Why,  then, 
if  they  were  capable,  did  they  choose  not  to  do  it?  Are 
Episcopal  bishops,  now,  ever  as  vague  and  indefinite  in  their 
use  of  the  terms  "bishop"  and  "presbyters,"  as  were  the 
apostles  ?  Why  were  the  latter  so  undesirous  of  having  "the 
pre-eminence?"  3  John,  9. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  mode  of  using  these  terms  in  the 
New  Testament  is  precisely  in  accordance  with  the  usage  in 
Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches.  Thc.y  speak,  just 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  311 

as  the  sacred  writers  did,  of  their  ministers  indiscriminately  as 
te  bishops/''  as  "  pastors/'  as  "  teachers/'  as  "  evangelists." 
They  regard  their  ministers  as  on  an  equality.  Did  not  the 
sacred  writers  do  the  same  ? 

It  is  as  remarkable,  that  the  mode  of  using  these  terms  in 
the  Episcopal  churches  is  NOT,  ex  concessis,  that  which  occurs 
in  the  Bible.  And  it  is  as  certain  that  were  they  thus  to  use 
those  terms,  it  would  at  once  confound  their  orders  and  ranks, 
and  reduce  their  ministers  to  equality.  Do  we  ever  see  any 
approximation,  in  their  addresses  and  in  their  canons,  in  this 
respect,  to  the  language  and  style  of  the  New  Testament  ? 
Do  we  ever  hear  of  Bishop  Tyng,  or  Bishop  Hawkes,  or  Bishop 
Schroeder,  or  Bishop  Croswell  ?  Do  we  ever  hear  of  Presbyter 
Ives,  or  Doane,  or  Onderdonk?  How  would  language  like 
this  sound  in  the  mouth  of  a  prelatical  bishop?  Would  not 
all  men  be  amazed,  as  if  some  new  thing  had  happened  under 
the  sun,  in  the  Episcopal  Church  ?  And  yet,  we  venture  to 
presume  that  the  terms  used  in  the  New  Testament,  to  desig 
nate  any  office,  may  be  used  still.  We  shall  still  choose  to 
call  things  by  their  true  names,  and  to  apply  to  all  ranks  and 
orders  of  men  the  terms  which  are  applied  to  them  by  the 
spirit  of  inspiration.  And  as  the  indiscriminate  use  of  these 
terms  is  carefully  avoided  by  the  customs  and  canons  of  the 
Episcopal  Church;  as  there  seems  to  have  been  a  presenti 
ment  in  the  formation  of  those  canons,  that  such  indiscrimi 
nate  use  would  reduce  the  fabric  to  simple  "parity"  of  the 
clergy;  and  as  these  terms  cannot  be  so  used,  without  re 
ducing  these  "  ranks  and  orders"  to  a  scriptural  equality,  we 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  apostles  meant  to  teach  that 
the  ministers  of  the  New  Testament  are  equal  in  ministerial 
rights  and  powers. 

We  have  now  gone  through  this  entire  subject.  We  have 
examined,  we  trust,  in  a  candid  manner, — we  are  sure  with 
the  kindest  feelings  towards  our  Episcopal  brethren,  —  every 


312  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

argument  which  they  have  to  adduce  from  the  Bible  in  favour 
of  the  claims  of  their  bishops.  We  have  disposed  of  these 
arguments,  step  by  step.  We  have  done  this,  remembering 
that  these  are  ALL  the  arguments  which  Episcopacy  has  to 
urge  from  the  Bible.  There  is  nothing  that  remains.  The 
subject  is  exhausted.  Episcopacy  rests  here.  And  it  is 
incumbent  on  Episcopacy  to  show,  not  to  affirm }  that  our 
interpretation  of  those  passages  is  not  sustained  by  sound 
principles  of  exegesis. 

The  burden  of  proof  still  lies  on  them.  They  assumed  it, 
and  on  them  it  rests.  They  affirm  that  enormous  powers  are 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  prelate — every  thing  pertaining  to 
ordination,  to  discipline,  to  the  superintendence  of  the  Chris 
tian  church.  They  claim  powers  tending  to  degrade  every 
presbyter  in  the  world  to  the  condition  of  a  dependent  and 
inferior  office  ]  stripping  him  of  the  right  of  transmitting  his 
own  office,  and  of  administering  discipline  among  his  own 
flock.  They  arrogate  powers  which  go  to  strip  all  other  pres 
byters,  except  Episcopalian,  of  any  right  to  officiate  in  the 
church  of  God ;  rendering  their  ordination  invalid,  their  admi 
nistrations  void,  and  their  exercise  of  the  functions  of  their 
office  a  daring  and  impious  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the 
priesthood,  and  a  violation  of  the  law  of  Christ.  The  founda 
tion  for  these  sweeping,  and  certainly  not  very  modest  claims, 
we  have  examined  with  all  freedom.  At  the  conclusion  we 
may  ask  any  person  of  plain,  common  sense,  to  place  his 
finger  on  that  portion  of  the  book  of  God  which  is  favourable 
to  Prelacy. 

The  argument  for  Prelacy  having  been  met  and  disproved, 
we  have  produced  an  instance  of  express  Presbyterian  ordina 
tion,  in  the  case  of  Timothy.  Two  churches  we  have  found 
that  were  organized  without  prelates.  We  are  thus,  b}T  an 
other  train  of  argument,  conducted  to  the  same  result — that 
prelates  are  unknown  in  the  New  Testament.  And  to  make 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  313 

our  argument  perfectly  conclusive,  we  have  shown  that  the 
same  titles  are  applied  indiscriminately  to  all. 

Our  argument  may  be  stated  in  still  fewer  words.  The 
Episcopal  claims  are  not  made  out  •  and,  of  course,  the  clergy 
of  the  New  Testament  are  equal.  The  Episcopalian  has 
failed  to  show  that  there  were  different  grades ;  and  it  follows 
that  there  must  be  parity.  We  have  examined  the  only  case 
of  ordination  specified  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  consti 
tution  of  the  churches,  and  find  that  it  is  so  \  and  we  are 
conducted  inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that  Prelacy  is  not  in 
the  Bible. 

We  now  take  our  leave  of  the  Episcopal  controversy.  As 
Episcopacy  has  nothing  which  it  can  add  to  the  scriptural 
argument,  we  regard  our  labours  in  this  department  as  at  end. 
The  whole  scriptural^  argument  is  exhausted,  and  here  our 
inquiry  ends,  and  here  our  interest  in  this  topic  ceases.  We 
take  leave  of  the  subject  with  the  same  kind  feelings  for  that 
church,  and  the  same  respect  for  the  author  of  the  "  Tract," 
with  which  we  began  the  inquiry.  We  remember  the  former 
services  which  the  Episcopal  Church  rendered  to  the  cause 
of  truth,  and  of  the  world's  redemption ;  we  remember  the 
bright  and  ever-living  lights  of  truth  which  her  clergy  and 
her  illustrious  laymen  have,  in  other  times,  enkindled  in  the 
darkness  of  this  world's  history,  and  which  continue  to  pour 
their  pure  and  steady  lustre  on  the  literature,  the  laws,  and 
the  customs  of  the  Christian  world ;  and  we  trust  the  day  will 
never  come  when  our  own  bosoms,  or  the  bosoms  of  Christians 
in  any  denomination,  will  cease  to  beat  with  emotions  of  lofty 
thanksgiving  to  the  God  of  grace  that  he  raised  up  such 
gifted  and  holy  men,  to  meet  the  corruptions  of  the  Papacy 
and  to  breast  the  wickedness  of  the  world. 

In  our  view  of  ecclesiastical  polity,  we  can  have  no  unkind 
feelings  toward  any  branch  of  the  true  church  of  God.  We 
strive  to  cherish  feelings  of  affectionate  regard  for  them  all, 
Tor,.  T.  27 


314  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

and  to  render  praise  to  the  common  Father  of  Christians,  for 
any  efforts  which  are  made  to  promote  the  intelligence,  the 
purity,  and  the  salvation  of  mankind.  In  our  views  of  the 
nature  of  mind  and  of  freedom,  we  can  have  no  unkind  feelings 
toward  any  denomination  of  true  Christians.  "  There  are 
diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  spirit.  And  there  are  dif 
ferences  of  administrations,  but  the  same  Lord.  And  there 
are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the  same  God  which 
worketh  all  in  all."  We  have  no  expectation  that  all  men 
in  this  world  will  think  alike.  And  we  regard  it  as  a  wise 
arrangement  that  the  church  of  God  is  thus  organized  into 
different  sections  and  departments,  under  the  banner  of  the 
common  captain  of  their  salvation.  It  promotes  inquiry.  It 
prevents  complacency  in  mere  forms  and  ceremonies.  It 
produces  healthy  and  vigorous  emulation.  It  affords  opportu 
nities  for  all  classes  of  minds  to  arrange  themselves  according 
to  their  preferences  and  their  habits  of  thought.  And  it 
is  not  unfavourable  to  that  kindness  of  feeling  which  the 
Christian  can  cherish,  and  should  cherish,  when  he  utters 
in  the  sanctuary  the  article  of  his  faith — "I  believe  in  the 
holy  catholic  church,  the  communion  of  saints."  The  attach 
ment  of  a  soldier  to  a  particular  company  or  squadron  need 
riot  diminish  his  respect  for  the  armies  of  his  country,  or  ex 
tinguish  his  love  of  her  liberty.  Being  joined  to  a  company 
of  infantry,  need  not  make  me  feel  that  the  cavalry  are  use 
less,  or  involve  me  in  a  controversy  with  the  artillery. 

We  ask  only  that  Episcopacy  should  not  assume  arrogant 
claims ;  that  she  should  be  willing  to  take  her  place  among 
other  denominations  of  Christians,  entitled  to  like  respect  as 
others,  to  all  the  tender  and  sympathetic  affections  of  the 
Christian  brotherhood ;  and  willing  that  others  should  walk 
in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  his  people  free. 
We  shall  have  no  contest  with  our  Episcopal  brethren  for 
loving  the  church  of  their  choice,  and  the  church  in  which 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CONTROVERSY.  315 

they  seek  to  prepare  themselves  for  heaven.  We  shall  not 
utter  the  language  of  unkindness,  for  their  reverencing  the 
ministerial  office  in  which  the  spirits  of  Cranmer  and  Leighton 
were  prepared  for  their  eternal  rest.  Content  that  other 
denominations  should  enjoy  like  freedom,  while  they  do  not 
arrogate  to  themselves  unholy  claims,  and  attempt  to  "  lord  it 
over"  other  parts  "  of  God's  heritage,"  we  shall  pray  for 
their  success,  and  rejoice  in  their  advancement.  But  the 
moment  they  cross  this  line;  the  moment  they  make  any 
advances  which  resemble  those  of  the  Papacy ;  the  moment 
they  set  up  the  claim  of  being  the  only  "  primitive  and  apos 
tolical  church;"  and  the  moment  they  speak  of  the  "  invalid 
ministry"  and  the  "  invalid  ordinances"  of  other  churches, 
and  regard  them  as  "left  to  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of 
God," — that  moment  the  language  of  argument  and  of  Chris 
tian  rebuke  may  properly  be  heard  from  every  other  denomi 
nation.  There  arc  minds  that  can  investigate  the  Bible  as 
well  as  the  advocates  for  Episcopacy ;  there  are  pens  that  can 
compete  with  any  found  in  the  Episcopal  Church ;  and  there 
are  men  who  will  not  be  slow  to  rebuke  the  first  appearance 
of  arrogance  and  of  lordly  assumption,  and  who  will  remind 
them  that  the  time  has  gone  by  when  an  appeal  to  the  infalli 
ble  church  will  answer  in  this  controversy.  Arrogant  assump 
tions,  they  will  be  at  once  reminded,  do  not  suit  the  present 
state  of  intelligence  in  this  land,  or  the  genius  of  our  institu 
tions.  While  the  Episcopal  Church  shall  seek,  by  kind  and 
gentle  means,  to  widen  its  influence,  like  the  flowing  of  a 
river,  or  like  the  dews  of  heaven,  we  shall  hail  its  advances ; 
when  she  departs  from  this  course,  and  seeks  to  utter  the 
language  of  authority  and  denunciation, — to  prostrate  other 
churches  as  with  the  sweepings  of  the  mountain-torrent, — she 
will  be  checked  by  all  the  intelligence  and  piety  of  this  land; 
and  she  will  be  reminded  by  a  voice  uttered  from  all  the  insti- 


316  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

tutions  of  these  times,  that  Episcopacy  has  had  its  reign  of 
authority  in  the  dark  ages  and  at  the  Vatican ;  and  that  the 
very  genius  of  Protestantism  is,  that  one  church  is  not  to  utter 
the  language  of  arrogance  over  another ;  and  that  not  au 
thority  or  denunciation,  but  SCRIPTURAL  EXPOSITION,  is  to 
determine  which  is  in  accordance  with  the  book  of  God. 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    317 

VII. 

[NEW  ENGLANDER,  1844.] 

The  Position  of  the  Evangelical  Party  in  the  Episcopal 
Church. 

IT  is  from  no  desire  to  intermeddle  with  the  internal  affairs 
of  another  denomination  of  Christians,  that  we  introduce  to 
our  readers  the  subject  which  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of 
this  article.  Nor  is  it  from  any  wish  to  take  advantage  of  the 
present  troubles  and  growing  dissensions  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  to  make  converts  to  our  better  faith,  or  to  make  repri 
sals  for  the  accessions  which  they  have  sought  to  gain  from 
the  disputes  and  divisions  of  other  denominations.  We  have 
listened  in  calmer  times  with  proper  interest  to  their  procla 
mations  of  their  own  unity,  while  other  churches  have  been 
rent  into  factions  or  threatened  with  schism.  We  have  seen 
a  few  from  other  churches,  charmed  with  this  proclamation  of 
unity,  and  professedly  won  by  the  hope  of  peace,  leave  the 
connections  in  which  they  were  trained,  and  attach  themselves 
to  Episcopacy.  I3ut  they  have  not  been  men  whose  departure 
the  churches  have  had  occasion  to  regard  as  a  serious  calamity, 
or  whose  recovery  would  be  worth  any  very  serious  effort. 
We  are  content  that  they  should  minister  in  their  new  con 
nection,  we  hope  with  greater  success  than  was  promised  in 
their  former  relations,  and  with  all  the  peace  and  comfort 
which  it  may  be  possible  for  them  now  to  obtain. 

We  feel  that  we  have  a  right  to  advert  to  this  subject  only 
so  far  as  it  pertains  to  the  cause  of  our  common  Christianity. 
In  their  internal  affairs ;  their  questions  of  precedency  and 
order;  their  family  affections  or  alienations;  their  domestic 


318  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

difficulties,  troubles,  or  joys;  their  questions  about  tho  relative 
rights  and  powers  of  bishops,  priests,  deacons,  or  laymen,  we 
claim  no  right  and  have  no  disposition  to  interfere.  The 
limits  of  courtesy  and  propriety  on  such  matters  are  settled. 
With  the  domestic  concerns  of  a  neighbour — the  family  jars, 
loves,  alienations,  modes  of  living,  style  of  dress,  or  inter 
course — we  have  no  right  to  intermeddle.  It  is  their  own 
concern,  and  they  have  a  right  to  manage  it  their  own  way. 
We  are  not  to  be  "busybodics  in  other  men's  matters."  We 
are  not  to  attempt  to  foment  divisions;  or  to  aggravate  a 
family  quarrel  •  or  to  utter  the  note  of  triumph  over  their 
dissensions — though  it  should  be  to  meet  and  ward  off  re 
proaches  on  account  of  our  own ;  nor  are  we  to  interfere  with 
a  view  of  encouraging  a  feebler  party  against  a  stronger,  in 
order  to  prolong  the  strife  and  rend  the  family  asunder,  or  to 
make  needless  proclamation  of  what  we  may  happen  to  know 
of  the  family  jar.  We  go  even  farther  than  this.  We  should 
not  feel  ourselves  at  liberty  in  such  a  domestic  difficulty  to 
lend  our  aid  or  to  give  our  counsel  to  one  of  the  parties  that 
we  regarded  as  indubitably  right,  and  that  held  opinions  in 
accordance  with  our  own,  in  order  to  prolong  the  difficulties 
there,  or  to  prevent  a  reconciliation  in  any  way  which  they 
might  regard  as  proper. 

But  there  is  a  sense  in  which  this  becomes  a  matter  of 
common  interest,  and  in  reference  to  which  there  is  common 
ground.  If  the  community  is  to  be  affected  by  this  difference, 
we  have  a  right  to  express  our  views.  If  there  are  common 
interests  pertaining  to  the  good  order  of  society  that  are  in 
danger  of  suffering,  we  have  a  right  to  lift  up  the  voice  in 
their  defence.  If  principles  are  advanced  by  either  party 
which  may  affect  the  welfare  of  the  community,  we  are  not  at 
liberty  to  be  silent.  If  the  difficulty  is  the  regular  and  inevi 
table  result  of  certain  views  which  both  parties  publicly  pro 
claim  that  they  hold,  we  have  a  right  to  say  so.  And  if  one 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    819 

party  is  aiming  at  an  impracticable  tiling;  endeavouring, 
though  in  the  most  peaceful  manner,,  and  with  the  purest 
motives,  to  maintain  principles  and  to  accomplish  objects 
which  are  in  their  nature  wholly  at  variance  with  those  on 
which  the  family  has  been  uniformly  administered,  and  to 
which  that  party  also  has  solemnly  expressed  its  assent,  we  do 
not  suppose  that  we  are  forbidden  by  any  law  of  courtesy  to 
express  our  convictions  on  these  points,  and  to  endeavour  to 
derive  from  this  inevitable  want  of  harmony  lessons  that  shall 
be  of  value  to  the  common  cause. 

Such  we  consider  to  be  the  present  condition  of  the  Episco 
pal  Church.  A  crisis  has  occurred  in  that  communion  such  as 
it  could  have  been  foreseen,  by  a  moderate  measure  of  sagacity, 
must  sooner  or  later  occur,  and  which,  however  it  may  be  for  a 
time  suppressed,  we  venture  to  foretell  will  in  some  form  con 
tinue  to  break  out,  until  "  the  church'7  is  thoroughly  reformed 
and  Prelacy  abandoned. 

In  the  controversy  now  waging  there,  the  great  interests  of 
our  common  Christianity  are  affected.  There  are  momentous 
questions  at  stake  in  which  all  who  love  the  religion  of  the 
Saviour  are  interested.  There  are  points  of  much  more  im 
portance  than  any  which  can  be  raised  about  the  qualifications 
of  Mr.  Arthur  Carey  for  the  "  diaconatc."  There  are  ques 
tions  respecting  the  working  of  the  system;  its  fitness  to 
promote  unity;  the  measures  which  are  adopted  to  secure 
harmony ;  the  effect  of  those  measures  in  suppressing  the 
truth,  preventing  free  discussion,  and  fostering  error;  and, 
above  all,  the  general  effect  of  the  system  of  Episcopacy  on 
evangelical  religion,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  who 
conceives  it  possible — as  it  may  be — that  he  or  any  one  of  his 
friends  should  be  invited  to  become  an  Episcopalian,  to  exa 
mine,  and  which  the  present  outbreak  furnishes  an  appropriate 
opportunity  to  examine.  We  have  never  had  any  sympathy 
for  Prelacy.  We  have  never  believed  that  it  was  the  form  of 


320  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

religion  prescribed  in  the  New  Testament.  We  have  always 
regarded  it  as  a  system  adapted  to  cramp  and  crush  the  free 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  But  we  have  had  no  doubt  that  there 
were  many  of  the  intelligent  and  the  good  among  the  fol 
lowers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  who  regarded  it  conscientiously  as 
the  system  prescribed  in  the  Bible;  and  we  have  supposed 
that  there  were  minds  so  formed  that  they  would  be  better 
edified  in  connection  with  that  form  of  religion  than  under  a 
different  method  of  organization.  "We  think  the  time  now 
has  come  to  examine  the  influence  of  that  system  on  evan 
gelical  religion ;  and  in  order  to  make  our  inquiry  definite,  we 
propose  to  inquire  into  the  present  position  of  the  evangelical, 
or  as  it  is  often  called,  the  low-church  party  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  We  shall  inquire  whether  the  objects  at  which  they 
aim  can  be  secured  in  that  communion,  or  whether  they  do 
not  necessarily  meet  with  obstructions  in  the  organization 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  which  will  certainly  prevent  the 
accomplishment  of  those  objects;  whether  there  are  not  in 
their  forms  of  worship  things  which  will  inevitably  cramp 
and  crush  the  free  spirit  of  religion ;  and  whether  the  Epis 
copal  Church  is  not  so  organized  as  effectually  to  secure 
the  ultimate  ascendency  of  the  objects  aimed  at  by  the  high- 
church  party.  In  other  words,  the  question  is,  whether  Tract- 
arianism  is  not  a  fair  development  of  the  system,  and  whe 
ther  those  views,  if  the  present  organization  of  that  church 
should  be  continued,  are  not  destined  to  be  ultimately  tri 
umphant. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  have  been,  perhaps  from  the 
commencement  of  its  existence  in  this  country,  two  parties 
in  the  Episcopal  Church.  These  parties  are  generally  known 
by  the  names  of  the  high  and  the  low  church — or,  as  the 
latter  prefer,  we  believe,  to  be  called,  the  evangelical — party. 
These  parties  have  grown  up,  not  from  the  nature  of  Prelacy, 
or  by  any  tendency  in  the  Episcopal  Church  to  foster  the 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    321 

aims  sought  by  the  evangelical  party,  but  from  the  contact 
of  Episcopacy  with  the  spirit  of  our  age,  and  with  the  free 
developments  of  Christianity  among  the  other  denominations 
with  whom  Episcopalians  come  necessarily  in  contact.  It  is 
possible  that  the  germs  of  these  parties  existed  in  the  Epis 
copal  Church  in  its  incipient  state  in  this  country ;  but  that 
which  has  now  grown  up  into  the  evangelical  party,  we  sup 
pose  would  have  been  suppressed  by  the  overshadowing  of 
the  religion  of  forms,  if'  it  had  not  been  excited  and  kindled 
by  the  reflected  influence  on  the  Episcopal  Church  of  the 
views  and  objects  of  evangelical  Christians  in  other  denomi 
nations.  It  has  been  apparent  that  other  denominations 
greatly  surpassed  the  Episcopal  communion  in  zeal  for  those 
things  specially  commended  in  the  New  Testament;  that  they 
sought  a  more  spiritual  religion  than  had  been  common  in 
the  Episcopal  communion ;  that  they  aimed  more  to  convert 
and  save  the  souls  of  men;  and  that  they  sought  in  methods 
that  had  the  undoubted  sanction  of  the  New  Testament,  to 
spread  the  gospel  around  the  globe.  The  question  arose 
whether  these  objects  could  not  be  grafted  on  Episcopacy, 
and  whether  without  producing  schism,  and  with  the  main 
tenance  of  the  highest  respect  for  Prelacy  and  for  the  forms 
of  religion,  it  was  not  possible  to  introduce  the  evangelical 
spirit  into  the  bosom  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  add 
to  what  was  regarded  as  the  nobleness,  venerableness,  and 
authority  of  her  ancient  forms,  the  life  and  vigour,  and 
elastic  energy  which  reigns  with  such  power  in  other  denomi 
nations.  If  so,  it  seems  to  have  been  supposed  that  there 
might  bo  urged  in  favour  of  Prelacy  all  that  is  now  urged 
from  the  necessity  of  the  "apostolic  succession;"  all  the 
authority  of  the  Fathers ;  all  its  boasted  power  to  preserve 
the  unity  of  the  church ;  and  all  the  advantages  derived  from 
a  staid  and  regular  organization,  united  with  all  that  com 
mends  evangelical  religion  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 


322  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

men.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  there  have  been  and  are 
still  in  the  bosom  of  the  Episcopal  Church  men  who  strive 
sincerely,  and  with  a  zeal  not  surpassed  by  those  of  other  de 
nominations,  for  the  conversion  of  souls.  They  are  men  who 
would  do  honour  to  any  cause,  and  whose  life  and  labours 
would  be  a  blessing  to  any  communion.  It  is  this  party 
which  has  endeavoured  to  engraft  the  spirit  of  evangelical 
religion  on  the  forms  of  Prelacy ;  and  it  is  to  their  holy  and 
devoted  efforts  that  the  result  has  already  more  than  once  oc 
curred  that  the  Episcopal  Church  has  been  in  danger  of  being 
rent  in  twain.  It  is  not  that  they  have  aimed  at  such  a  dis 
ruption,  but  it  has  been  the  kind  of  danger  which  would  exist 
in  a  statue  of  marble  that  a  fissure  would  be  caused  by  apply 
ing  intense  heat  to  one  portion  and  not  to  the  other.  It  has 
required  all  the  power  of  numbers,  influence,  and  prelatical 
authority  on  the  part  of  the  high-church  party,  united  with 
all  the  veneration  of  the  low-church  party  for  the  church  and 
her  forms,  to  prevent  such  a  rupture.  Thus  far  this  has  been 
successful,  and  in  every  controversy  of  this  kind  the  high- 
church  party  has  secured  the  victory,  and  the  unity  of  the 
church  has  been  preserved.  AYe  think  the  history  thus  far 
furnishes  an  omen  of  most  portentous  character  in  regard  to 
the  issue  of  such  contentious  at  present  and  in  all  time  to 
come.  We  have  no  expectation  that  the  low-church  party 
will  ever  gain  the  ascendency,  or  carry  ultimately  a  single 
point.  Our  reasons  for  this  opinion  will  be  seen  in  the  pro 
gress  of  our  remarks. 

The  present  position  of  the  parties  in  the  Episcopal  Church 
is  not  determined  precisely  by  the  different  views  which  cha 
racterize  the  high  church  and  the  evangelical  party.  There 
has  been  to  some  extent  a  breaking  up  of  the  old  lines  of  de 
marcation,  and  a  somewhat  modified  arrangement.  The  con 
troversy  respecting  Puseyisin  is  not  precisely  the  same  as  the 
controversy  which  has  hitherto  prevailed.  To  a  superficial 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    823 

observer  it  might  have  been  anticipated,  perhaps,  that  the  low- 
church  party  would  have  been  found,  without  an  exception, 
arrayed  against  the  doctrines  of  the  Tractarians,  and  that  the 
high-church  portion  would  have  been  as  uniformly  friendly  to 
the  Oxford  theology.  But  this,  if  we  correctly  understand 
the  matter,  has  not  been  precisely  the  case.  A  portion  of 
those  who  have  been  regarded  as  high  church  have  made  as 
strenuous  opposition  to  the  advances  of  this  system  as  have 
been  witnessed  in  any  other  quarter;  and  some  who  have  been 
regarded  as  leaders  of  the  evangelical  party  have  shown  a 
decided  inclination  to  vindicate  the  most  arrogant  form  in 

o 

which  the  spirit  of  the  Oxford  theology  could  manifest  itself 
in  this  free  country.  Those  of  the  high  church,  moreover, 
who  have  resisted  these  aggressions,  have  shown  no  more 
affinity  for  the  evangelical  portion  than  they  did  before.  In 
the  possible,  but  not  probable,  event  of  a  rupture  in  the  Epis 
copal  Church,  they  would  undoubtedly  be  found  ranged  with 
the  friends  of  the  Tractarian  cause — no  matter  what  their 
arrogance,  and  no  matter  how  near  they  approximate  to  Home, 
rather  than  with  the  evangelical  party.  This  they  would  do, 
not  because  they  love  Puseyism  mow,  but  because  they  love 
the  low-church  principles  less.  We  apprehend  also,  that,  if 
the  question  of  a  possible  rupture  should  actually  come  up  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  it  would  be  found  that  rather  than 
such  a  crisis  should  occur,  what  there  is  of  the  evangelical 
spirit  in  the  other  party  would  be  suppressed  or  crushed, 
rather  than  that  matters  should  come  to  such  a  result.  Such 
is  the  inborn  horror  in  the  mind  of  a  genuine  Episcopalian  at 
the  very  word  schism — though  the  whole  system  of  Episco 
pacy  is  a  schism  of  the  worst  kind  from  the  proper  sense 
of  the  unity  of  the  church ;  such  the  love  of  forms  and  of 
order;  such  the  desire  not  to  expose  themselves  to  the  pos 
sible  danger  of  vitiating  the  "  succession ;"  and  such  the 
belief,  in  spite  of  experience,  that  the  free-born  spirit  of 


324  ESSAYS    AND    KEVIEWS. 

Christianity  may  live  and  breathe  under  all  the  incumbent 
pressure  of  these  antiquated  forms,  and  may  move  on  to  the 
conquest  of  the  world,  fettered  and  manacled  as  it  must  be, 
that  these  difficulties  with  Puseyism  would  be  greatly  dimi 
nished  in  their  view,  and  that  no  one  would  dare  to  mention 
the  word  separation. 

But  our  business  now  is  not  directly  with  Puseyism.  We 
wish  to  refer  to  the  lines  which  existed  before  the  slight  irre 
gularity  in  the  ranks  of  the  parties,  caused  by  the  prevalence 
of  the  Tractarian  theology,  occurred.  The  characteristics  of 
the  two  parties  before  the  present  difficulties  arose  in  the 
Episcopal  Church,  we  shall  proceed  to  state  as  we  understand 
them. 

The  views  of  the  high-church  party  are  accurately  defined, 
and  the  points  in  which  they  differ  from  their  low-church 
brethren,  as  well  as  from  all  the  denominations  of  evangelical 
Christians,  are  well  understood.  They  have  never  made  any 
secret  of  them,  and  have  never  propounded  them  as  if  they 
wished  to  practice  any  concealment,  or  regarded  them  as  mys 
teries  to  be  made  known  only  to  the  initiated.  They  hold, 
if  we  understand  them  aright,  to  the  necessity  of  an  actual, 
uninterrupted  succession  from  the  apostles,  in  order  to  the 
validity  of  the  ministry.  They  hold,  that  the  ministry  of  the 
church  consists  of  three  orders,  and  that  the  supremacy  is  in 
the  bishop ;  that  all  the  power  of  ordaining  is  in  him,  and 
that  no  one  has  any  right  to  officiate  as  a  minister  of  religion 
in  any  form,  except  in  virtue  of  the  imposition  of  his  hands. 
They  hold,  that  to  him  alone  appertains  the  right  of  confirma 
tion  j  and  that  grace,  quite  desirable,  if  not  essential  to  salva 
tion,  is  conveyed  by  that  rite.  They  hold,  that  there  is  no 
church  but  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  that  in  any  other  body 
of  persons  there  is  no  valid  ministry,  and  that  there  are  no 
valid  sacraments.  They  hold  to  the  doctrine  of  baptismal 
regeneration,  and  to  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  by  some 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CIIUHCH.    325 

kind  of  opus  operation.  They  hold,  that  those  who  have 
teen,  baptized  in  a  proper  manner  are  to  be  brought  to 
the  bishop  and  confirmed,  as  soon  as  they  can  say  the 
creed,  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  the  catechism,  and  arc  to  be 
admitted  to  the  church  without  any  special  inquiry  into 
their  spiritual  state,  or  without  giving  any  distinct  evidence 
of  a  change  of  heart.  They  hold,  that  such  is  the  efficacy 
of  baptism  thus  administered,  of  confirmation,  of  the  ob 
servance  of  the  eucharist,  and  of  a  connection  with  the 
true  apostolical  church,  that  by  this  process  their  salvation 
will  be  secure. 

They  are  opposed  to  revivals  of  religion,  as  the  term  is  com 
monly  employed  j  to  prayer-meetings  •  to  "  night-services/' 
and  to  all  "  voluntary"  societies  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
They  utterly  refuse,  as  a  body,  to  give  the  Bible  without  the 
Prayer-book,  and  religiously  abstain  from  all  connection  with 
any  association  for  promoting  any  religious  object  out  of  "  tlte 
church."  They  take  no  part  in  a  Bible,  Sunday-school,  tract, 
or  missionary  society,  where  persons  of  other  denominations 
are  concerned  in  the  directorship,  or  where  their  appearance 
could  be  construed  as  an  admission  that  other  denominations 
appertain  to  the  church  of  Christ.  They  are  seen  on  no  plat 
form  mingling  with  other  Christians  in  the  promotion  of  the 
common  cause ;  and  neither  by  their  contributions,  their  pre 
sence,  nor  their  names,  do  they  lend  any  countenance  to  any 
meeting  or  association  which  can  be  construed  as  a  union 
of  different  denominations  of  Christians  for  any  object  what 
ever.  As  members  of  the  church  of  Christ,  as  ministers 
of  his  religion,  they  hold  that  there  can  be  no  common 
ground  on  which  they  can  meet  others.  As  citizens,  as 
neighbours,  as  friends  of  literature,  as  those  who  may  be 
engaged  in  the  business  of  mending  a  road,  or  building  a 
bridge,  they  may  be  connected  with  others,  because  these 
things  cannot  be  Episcopally  done ;  but  they  go  no  farther. 
You  I.  28 


826  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

Not  even  in  the  temperance  cause  will  they  associate  with. 
others.  Of  this  we  know  not  exactly  the  reason,  whether 
they  are  unfriendly  to  temperance  principles  themselves,  or 
whether  they  regard  temperance  as  a  part  of  religion,  and 
consider  that  it  is  not  desirable  to  promote  it  except  somehow 
through  the  apostolic  succession.  We  do  not  recollect  that 
they  have  given  to  the  public  an  opportunity  of  forming  an 
opinion  on  these  points. 

As  a  consequence  of  these  views,  they  regard  all  other  asso 
ciations  of  men,  however  numerous  and  respectable,  as  left 
"  to  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God."  They  are  in  this 
respect  on  the  same  platform  with  the  Jew  and  the  Mussul 
man;  the  Japanese  and  the  Caffrarian.  From  the  true  church 
they  are  a  dissenters."  They  are  without  valid  ordinances, 
without  a  valid  ministry,  and  without  the  promises.  They 
meet  in  conventicles,  not  in  churches;  they  listen  to  the 
arguings  of  laymen,  not  to  the  teachings  of  the  authorized 
ministers  of  religion.  They  are  sprinkled  in  infancy,  or 
immersed  in  riper  years,  by  those  who  have  no  authority  for 
doing  either;  they  partake  of  bread  and  wine  which  in  no 
wise  differs  from  common  bread  and  wine,  except  that  they 
arc  taken  in  smaller  quantities  and  in  a  "meeting-house;" 
they  are  ministered  unto  by  those  who  would  commit  sacrilege 
by  putting  on  the  surplice  or  by  going  into  a  pulpit  duly  con 
secrated  ;  and  they  are  buried  in  ground  that  has  never  been 
consecrated,  and  by  those  who,  as  they  have  no  right  to 
address  the  living  in  the  name  of  Christ,  have  no  right 
to  officiate  at  the  graves  of  the  dead.  They  may  indeed 
be  saved — but  who  may  not  be  ?  God  is  merciful,  and 
they  have  the  same  chance  of  salvation  th.it  the  better 
part  of  the  heathen  have — and  no  other.  These,  if  we  un 
derstand  them,  are  the  leading  views  of  the  high-church 
party.  We  have  designed  not  to  do  injustice  to  them,  and 
we  have  the  means  of  substantiating  the  correctness  of 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    827 

tins  representation  by  the  highest  authorities  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  * 

Thc  views  of  the  low-church  or  evangelical  partv  are  n<;i, 
less  accurately  defined.  In  most  of  those  things  which  cha 
racterize  the  high  church  they  are  united  with  them.  TIK-V 
are  not  (:  a  whit  behind  the  chicfost"  of  that  party  in  tho 
belief  of  the  apostolic  succession;  in  glorifying  the  Prayer- 
book;  in  attachment  to  "  flic  church;"  in  the  faith  that  a 
valid  ministry  is  found  only  in  connection  with  Prelacy;  find 
in  strenuous  endeavours  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  i^pis- 
copal  sect.  They  do  no  more  than  the  highest  Puseyite 
would  do  in  recognising  the  ministers  of  another  denomina 
tion  as  authorized  to  preach  the  gospel,  or  to  administer  the 
sacraments.  They  never  invite  them  to  preach,  and  never 
appear  with  them  in  any  such  connection  as  to  show  that  they 
regard  them  as  the  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jc.sus.  They 


*  To  the  view  here  presented,  that  the  tendency  of  the  high -church 
opinions  is  to  "  unchurch"  all  others,  justice  requires  that  we  should 
notice  one  exception.  It  is  the  only  one  which  has  fallen  under  our  obser 
vation.  It  is  that  of  the  Ptev.  II.  TJ.  Onderdonk,  D.D.,  of  the  diocese  o( 
Pennsylvania.  lie  says,  (Tract  on  Episcopacy,)  "By  the  present  writer 
this  consequence"  [that  of  unchurching  other  denominations]  "is  not 
allowed."  He  states  no  reasons  why  it  is  not  allowed,  nor  does  he  attempt, 
to  show  how  this  admission  of  the  fact  that  others  are  not  unchurched,  is 
consistent  with  certain  principles  which  he  has  laid  down.  We  have  never 
been  able  to  make  out  the  consistency  of  the  admission  with  the  views 
which  he  defends  in  that  ''Tract/'  and  we  merely  record  it  as  af<t<:t  which 
we  regard  as  an  exception  to  the  general  views  of  that  party.  We  see  no 
way  of  explaining  it,  except  by  ascribing  it  to  the  promptings  of  a  heart 
of  kindness,  which  shrank  from  the  conclusion  to  which  his  reasoning  was 
tending,  and  which  led  him  to  express  the  feeling  of  charity  even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  logic.  Such  an  expression  of  feeling  wo  will  always  honour, 
wherever  we  find  it.  We  only  wish,  as  the  feeling  is  undoubtedly  right, 
that  the  logic  in  the  Tract  had  been  such  as  would  have  been  consistent 
with  it.  Is  that  logic  likely  to  be  correct,  which  would  require  a  man 
either  to  suppress  such  a  feeling,  or  to  give  vent  to  it  in  the  face  of  all  bis 
reasoning  ? 


328  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

recognise  their  baptism  no  more,  we  believe,  than  they  would 
that  of  laymen,  and,  in  common  with  their  high-church 
brethren,  they  expect  that  those  who  come  among  them  from 
other  churches,  if  private  members,  will  submit  to  the  rite 
of  confirmation ;  if  ministers,  that  they  will  abjure  their 
former  ordination,  and  submit  to  the  imposition  of  the  hands 
of  the  prelate.  We  do  not  know  that  in  a  single  instance 
they  have  ever  protested  against  this  as  improper,  or  even 
hinted  that  they  regarded  the  previous  ordination  as  differing 
in  any  way  from  lay-ordination.  While  they  allow  one  who 
has  been  ordained  by  papal  hands  to  minister  at  their  altars 
without  being  reordained,  and  offer  no  remonstrance  against  it, 
we  suppose  that  there  is  not  a  low-church  minister  in  this 
land  who  would  not  be  shocked  if  a  Presbyterian  minister 
should  be  admitted  to  the  rank  of  a  "  priest,"  or  even  of  a 
"  deacon,"  without  being  reordained.  We  think,  too,  that 
they  are  as  zealous  for  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  for  its  up 
building,  as  any  high  churchman  can  be.  It  is  an  object 
never  lost  sight  of  by  an  Episcopalian;  and  whatever  may  be 
the  place  in  which  he  is  ranked  in  his  controversy  between 
the  high  and  low  church,  or  in  the  disputes  respecting  the 
Oxford  theology;  and  whatever  may  be  the  style  of  his  inter 
course  with  other  denominations,  the  obligation  to  remember 
the  interests  of  the  Episcopal  Church  is  never  for  a  moment 
forgotten. 

But  with  these  views  the  low  churchman  has  endeavoured 
to  blend  certain  others,  in  which  he  greatly  diverges  from  his 
high-church  brethren,  and  in  which  he  assimilates  himself  to 
other  denominations.  He  does  not  believe  in  the  efficacy  of 
forms  for  justification.  He  does  not  believe  in  baptismal 
regeneration.  He  holds  to  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  by 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  to  justification  solely  by  faith; 
to  sanctification,  not  by  any  opus  operatum  of  the  sacraments, 
but  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God ;  to  the  necessity  of 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    329 

spiritual  religion ;  to  the  duties  of  a  holy  life ;  to  tlic  obliga 
tions  of  steady  self-denial  and  a  separation  from  the  world. 
He  believes  that  they  who  come  to  the  Lord's  table  should  be 
converted  as  a  qualification,  not  that  they  should  come  to  be 
converted.  He  claims  the  right  of  not  "  bringing  those  to  the 
bishop  to  be  confirmed''  whom  he  does  not  regard  as  having 
evidence  of  true  conversion.  He  would  guard  the  church 
from  the  admission  to  its  ordinances  of  any  who  do  riot  give 
evidence  of  true  piety. 

The  low  churchman  is,  in  general,  a  Calvinist,  and  fre 
quently  of  the  highest  order.  He  preaches  the  humbling 
doctrines  of  the  cross,  and  advocates  the  lofty  themes  of 
Divine  sovereignty  in  the  salvation  of  men. 

The  low  churchman  believes  in  the  necessity  of  special  efforts 
for  the  salvation  of  men.  He  believes  that  prayer-meetings 
arc  adapted  to  promote  the  edification  of  believers,  and  to 
secure  the  salvation  of  sinners.  He  is  no  enemy  of  ((  night 
meetings,''  and  is  so  much  the  friend  of  "protracted  efforts," 
that  he  unites  cheerfully  in  "  associations"  with  his  own  bre 
thren,  and  in  Episcopal  churches,  and  seeks  to  turn  the  bad 
and  unauthorized  arrangements  of  his  own  church,  for  the 
observance  of  saints'  days,  and  especially  of  Lent,  into  a  scries 
of  protracted  preaching  efforts  to  promote  revivals  of  religion. 

The  low  churchman  is  one  who  is  willing  to  act  with  the 
friends  of  religion,  where  he  can  meet  them  on  common 
ground.  He  is  willing  to  engage  in  the  circulation  of  the 
Bible,  though  it  have  not  the  Prayer-book  attached  to  it — 
reserving  his  zeal  for  the  latter  to  be  manifested  through  a 
society  in  his  own  church  specially  organized  for  that  purpose, 
and  reserving  to  himself  the  right  to  manifest  as  much  zeal 
for  that  as  shall  seem  to  him  to  be  meet.  He  is  willing  to  act 
with  others  in  the  distribution  of  tracts  on  the  common  topics 
of  religion,  and  in  the  establishment  of  Sabbath-schools,  even 
should  they  not  be  connected  with  the  Episcopal  denomination. 

28* 


330  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

In  the  cause  of  temperance,  of  the  Sabbath,  of  promoting  the 
gospel  among  seamen — and  in  opposition  to  the  arrogancy 
and  the  aggressions  of  the  Papacy,  he  will  meet  with  other 
Christians  in  the  same  committee-room,  or  on  the  same  plat 
form,  but  never  as  clergymen,  or  in  such  a  way  as  to  imply 
that  those  with  whom  he  associates  are  to  be  regarded  as  au 
thorized  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

We  see  thus  in  the  Episcopal  Church  two  distinct  classes 
of  men — classes  that  must,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  come 
into  frequent  collision.  We  propose  now  to  examine  the  posi 
tion  of  the  latter  class,  especially  in  regard  to  their  relation  to 
their  own  church,  and  to  the  question  whether  they  can  ever 
succeed  in  the  objects  at  which  they  aim.  We  regard  the 
question  as  one  of  great  interest  and  importance,  not  doubtful 
in  our  minds  as  to  the  issue,  but  as  a  struggle  throwing  light 
on  the  nature  of  religion,  and  as  adapted  to  aid  us  in  deter 
mining  whether  Prelacy  is  the  form  of  religion  that  is  re 
vealed  in  the  New  Testament.  If  the  experiment  should  be 
successful,  it  would  do  something  to  make  us  less  doubtful 
whether  the  ministry  was  organized  with  "the  three  orders;" 
— if  it  always  has  been  and  must  be  a  failure,  it  is  to  us  a 
clear  demonstration  that  the  church  was  organized  on  some 
other  foundation. 

We  need  not  say  that  in  the  main  our  sympathies  are 
wholly  with  the  low-church  party.  With  the  aim  of  the  other 
party  we  have  none ;  but  the  low-church  party,  so  far  as  they 
differ  from  their  brethren  in  the  Episcopal  communion,  are 
aiming  at  the  same  objects  as  all  the  rest  of  the  evangelical 
world,  and  are  endeavouring  to  promote  those  views  of  religion 
which,  we  believe,  will  ultimately  triumph.  The  question 
with  us  is  not  whether  the  objects  at  which  they  thus  aim  are 
right,  and  will  ultimately  be  somehow  secured  on  the  earth, 
but  whether  the  Episcopal  Church  can  be  imbued  with  these 
principles,  and  whether  they  will  triumph  in  the  controversies 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    331 

which  inevitably  arise  in  their  own  denomination.  Now,  in 
reference  to  this  question,  we  shall  state  freely  some  views 
which  seeni  to  us  to  put  this  question  to  rest. 

The  first  is,  that  the  object  at  which  they  aim  has  never  yet 
been  accomplished.  The  experience  of  the  world  has  been 
against  it.  We  state  a  position  here  which  we  think  is  the 
result  of  all  experiments,  and  which  we  challenge  the  advo 
cate  of  Episcopacy  to  refute.  It  is,  THAT  IT  HAS  NEVER 

BEEN  POSSIBLE  PERMANENTLY  TO  CONNECT  THE  RELIGION 
OF  FORMS  WITH  EVANGELICAL  RELIGION ;  or,  what  amounts 

to  the  same  thing,  that  the  Episcopal  mode  of  worship  has 
been  permanently  blended  with  the  objects  at  which  the  low 
churchman  aims.  We  will  first  refer  to  a  few  facts  sustaining 

O 

this  position.  We  shall  then  take  occasion  to  show  why 
it  is  so. 

The  attempt  to  unite  the  religion  of  forms  with  the  gospel, 
has  often  been  made.  There  have  been  good  men  connected 
with  every  form  of  worship.  There  have  been  in  all  ages  of 
the  church  men  who  have  held  to  the  doctrines  of  grace ;  men 
who  believed  in  all  that  constitutes  evangelical  religion  ;  men 
holding  to  the  entire  depravity  of  man,  the  doctrine  of  rege 
neration  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  necessity  of 
holy  living  and  of  a  close  walk  with  God — who  have  endea 
voured  to  unite  these  things  with  the  religion  of  forms. 
There  have  been,  as  there  are  now,  those  who  have  been 
warm  friends  of  prayer-meetings,  and  of  revivals,  and  of 
efforts  to  spread  the  gospel  around  the  world,  who  have  sighed 
for  the  spirit  of  freedom  amid  the  pompous  and  imposing 
ceremonials  of  the  worship  of  forms.  They  have  loved  sin 
cerely  the  forms  of  religion;  and  they  have  loved,  with  an 
ardour  which  nothing  could  extinguish,  the  pure  doctrines 
of  grace  and  the  holy  aspiration  of  Christianity.  Trained  in 
the  bosom  of  a  church  prescribing  pomp  and  splendour  in 
public  worship,  they  have  brought  to  its  favour  all  the 


332  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

prejudices  of  education;  accustomed  to  use  a  Prayer-book 
from  childhood,  they  love  it  as  they  do  the  home  and  the 
companions  of  their  youth  ;  sincerely  believing  that  Epis 
copacy  is  the  form  of  worship  prescribed  in  the  New  Testa 
ment,  they  have  become  bound  to  it  by  all  the  strength  of 
conscience;  or  in  lands  where  this  is  prescribed  by  statute, 
and  where  it  is  the  religion  of  the  state,  they  have  felt  that 
every  thing  of  a  temporal  nature  depended  on  adhesion  to  it, 
and  have  sincerely  desired  its  perpetuity.  At  the  same  time 
they  have  loved  evangelical  religion.  They  have  believed 
that  it  is  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  They  have  not  doubted 
that  it  would  finally  prevail.  They  have  sought,  therefore,  to 
spread  its  spirit  in  the  bosom  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  What 
now  has  been  the  lesson  which  history  has  taught  us  in 
regard  to  the  relation  of  the  religion  of  forms  to  evangelical 
religion  ? 

The  Jewish  religion,  in  the  time  of  the  Saviour,  was  a 
religion  of  forms.  It  had  a  strong  resemblance,  in  many 
respects,  to  Episcopacy ;  and  indeed  Episcopacy  has  avowedly 
borrowed  much  from  it,  and  often  defends  itself  by  a  reference 
to  the  divinely-appointed  pomp  and  pageantry  of  the  temple 
service.  There  were,  in  the  time  of  the  Saviour,  as  there 
always  had  been,  some  pure  worshippers  of  God  in  connection 
with  that  system ;  for  Zecharias  and  Simeon,  Anna,  Elizabeth, 
and  Mary  were  of  that  number.  But  the  Saviour  originated 
the  evangelical  system,  and  detached  it  at  once,  wholly  and 
forever,  from  the  Jewish  forms.  He  severed  his  whole 
church  from  it;  required  his  people  to  come  out  of  it;  pro 
nounced  his  gospel  to  be  free,  and  never  meant  that  its  free 
dom  should  be  cramped  by  the  religion  of  forms.  The  rites 
which  he  appointed  for  his  religion  were  as  few  as  possible, 
and  the  most  simple  that  can  be  conceived.  He  designated 
but  two  as  permanent  in  the  church,  nor  did  he  appoint  any 
other  that  can  with  any  propriety  be  designated  as  "sacra- 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    333 

incuts,"  even  if  these  should  be.  The  two  which  he  specified 
are  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  and  we  venture  to  say 
that  if  every  form  of  religion  ever  propounded  among  men 
were  examined,  two  more  simple  or  unostentatious  rites  could 
not  be  found.  As  the  rites  themselves,  also,  are  the  extreme 
of  simplicity,  so  he  made  every  thing  about  them  as  plain  as 
they  possibly  could  be.  He  prescribed  no  baptismal  font  of 
massive  gold,  silver,  or  marble ;  but  the  water  taken  from  a 
running  stream,  or  from  a  fountain  bursting  forth  in  the 
desert,  would  answer  all  the  purposes  of  the  emblem.  He 
ordained  no  splendid  communion-service  to  contain  the  sym 
bols  of  his  body  and  blood ;  but  the  plainest  cup  and  platter 
•would  suit  the  design.  As  these  rites  are  as  simple  as  pos 
sible,  so  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  would  be  as 
remote  as  any  could  be  from  abuse.  They  are  the  last  things 
on  which  it  could  be  conceived  to  be  possible  to  rear  a  gor 
geous  superstructure  of  spiritual  pomp  and  power.  Who 
could  have  imagined  that  the  simple  rite  of  water  baptism 
could  ever  be  magnified  into  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regene 
ration,  or  could  become  the  instrument  of  giving  dignity  and 
supremacy  to  the  holy  hands  that  were  appointed  to  admi 
nister  it,  and  thus  of  sustaining  the  arrogant  claims  of  a 
priesthood  in  the  religion  of  forms,  and  be  so  tortured  by  the 
"cunning  craftiness"  of  men,  as  to  be  a  substitute  for  the 
regenerating  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  And  what  finite 
mind  could  have  anticipated  the  history  of  the  Lord's  supper? 
Who  could  have  foreseen  what  the  simple  emblems  of  bread 
and  wine  would  be  made  to  become  when  attached  to  a  reli 
gion  of  forms,  and  what  use  would  be  made  of  them  in 
banishing  evangelical  religion  from  the  world  ?  Who  could 
have  imagined  that  they  would  become  the  principal  support 
of  the  most  extraordinary  claims  ever  set  up  by  a  priesthood 
over  men;  that  the  doctrine  would  be  gravely  taught  and 
believed,  that  by  words  of  ceremony  they  would  be  changed 


334  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

into  "  the  very  body  and  blood,  soul  and  divinity  of  the  Son 
of  God;"  that  they  would  be  borne  along  in  gorgeous  proces 
sion,  and  that  princes  and  kings  would  prostrate  themselves 
before  them ;  and  that  the  power  of  making  this  wonderful 
transmutation  would  be  supposed  to  give  to  any  one  class  of 
men  a  sanctity  above  all  others,  and  a  mysterious  connection 
with  the  Deity  elsewhere  unknown  among  mortals  ?  If  rites 
so  simple,  and  so  little  susceptible  of  abuse,  have  been  thus 
made  the  means  of  excluding  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
from  the  soul,  and  of  establishing  the  power  of  the  most 
mighty  hierarchy  on  earth,  we  see  one  reason  why  Christ 
established  no  more,  and  why  his  whole  arrangement  was  such 
as  most  effectually  to  detach  his  religion  from  all  connection 
with  the  religion  of  forms.  The  Jewish  religion,  eminently  a 
religion  of  forms,  accomplished  its  object  in  separating  that 
people  from  all  others,  and  in  adumbrating  a  future  spiritual 
system.  It  was  adapted  to  the  age  of  the  world  during  which 
it  was  designed  to  continue,  and  to  the  purpose  of  preparing 
for  a  better  system ;  and  though  it  is  undeniable  that  •  there 
were  holy  men  under  that  system,  yet  its  history  served, 
among  other  instructive  lessons,  to  teach  its  own  tendency  to 
sink  into  heartless  ceremony,  and  the  difficulty  of  maintaining 
spiritual  religion  in  connection  with  forms — and  the  Saviour, 
therefore,  detached  his  religion  from  it  forever.  As  soon  as 
possible,  the  Jewish  altar  was  thrown  down,  the  priests  were 
disrobed  of  their  gorgeous  vestments,  the  smoke  of  incense 
ceased  to  ascend,  and  the  temple  itself  was  demolished  to  be 
built  no  more.  The  spirit  of  the  gospel  separated  from  forms 
then,  nor  was  it  ever  to  be  united  with  the  pomp  and  ceremo 
nies  of  the  ancient  worship. 

From  the  days  of  Constantine,  Christianity  became  a  reli 
gion  of  forms.  But  where  was  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  ? 
Where  during  the  dark  ages  did  it  live  ?  Has  it  ever  been 
known  in  permanent  connection  with  the  papal  communion, 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IX  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHUHCII.    385 

or  in  the  Greek,  the  Armenian,  or  the  Nestorian  churches  ? 
In  all  these  churches  the  religion  of  forms  has  prevailed,  and 
still  prevails,  and  their  history  has  been  characterized  by  an 
almost  entire  separation  from  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  There 
has  been  no  permanent  connection,  and  if,  under  the  influence 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  there  has  been  at  any  time  a  reviving 
spirit  of  piety,  after  a  few  efforts  to  diffuse  itself  through  the 
cold  and  slumbering  church,  it  has  either  died  away  or  with 
drawn  where  it  could  breathe  the  air  of  freedom.  To  see  this, 
let  a  few  facts  be  submitted  to  the  attention  of  candid  men. 

Far  back  in  the  history  of  the  papal  communion,  there 
was  a  reviving  spirit  of  the  gospel.  Some  pure  spirits  arose 
imbued  with  the  same  love  of  Christ,  and  feeling  the  same 
power  of  religion,  which  prevailed  in  the  days  of  the  apostles; 
but  could  they  blend  their  religion  with  the  prevailing  reli 
gion  of  forms  ?  They  withdrew,  and  in  the  peaceful  valleys 
of  Piedmont  the  Waldenses  worshipped  God  "in  spirit  and  in 
truth/'  until  the  fires  of  martyrdom  were  lighted  on  all  their 
hills  and  through  all  their  vales,  by  the  advocates  of  the  reli 
gion  of  forms,  and  Rome  succeeded  in  nearly  exterminating 
them. 

Again  the  spirit  of  vital  piety  was  rekindled  in  the  bosom 
of  the  papal  church.  Simultaneously,  and  without  concert, 
a  heavenly  influence  breathed  upon  the  souls  of  Zuingle, 
of  Luther,  of  Melancthon,  and  of  Farel.  They  were  all  in 
the  bosom  of  the  papal  church  ;  all  had  been  reared  in  con 
nection  with  the  religion  of  forms ;  all  had  every  thing  to 
lose  and  nothing  to  gain  by  a  separation  ;  and  all  by  a  se 
paration  exposed  themselves  to  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican 
— the  fearful  power  that  could  shake  the  thrones  of  princes 
and  cause  monarchs  to  turn  pale  in  their  palaces.  Yet,  with 
every  inducement  from  education,  from  their  belief  of  the 
heavenly  origin  of  the  Papacy,  from  the  love  of  peace,  and 
from  the  dread  of  martyrdom,  to  remain  in  the  bosom  of  the 


336  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

papal  communion,  an  attempt  to  blend  the  spirit  of  the  gospel 
that  now  filled  their  hearts  with  holy  fire,  with  the  cold  spirit 
of  the  religion  of  forms,  was  hopeless — and  hence  the  Refor 
mation.  In  Germany,  in  Switzerland,  and  in  France,  as  far 
as  the  Reformation  extended,  there  was  a  final  separation 
of  the  two;  nor  was  there  any  power  of  argument,  or  art, 
or  interest,  or  arms,  that  could  there  unite  them. 

In  England  the  experiment  was  to  be  tried  in  another 
manner,  and  with  a  much  better  prospect  of  success.  It 
was  the  experiment  that  was  made  under  Henry  VIII., 
Edward  VI.,  and  Elizabeth.  There  was  the  genuine  spirit 
of  the  Reformation  in  the  Anglican  church.  It  reigned  not 
indeed  either  in  the  heart  of  Henry  or  Elizabeth,  but  it  did 
in  the  heart  of  Edward,  and  more  illustriously  still  in  the 
hearts  of  Latimer,  Ridley,  Bradford,  and  Cranmer,  and  with 
these  men  there  was  a  sincere  effort  to  blend  the  two  together. 
There  was  every  facility  for  making  the  experiment  in  as 
satisfactory  a  manner  as  possible.  Every  thing  in  the  protec 
tion  of  the  laws — in  the  power  of  talent,  eloquence,  learning, 
and  piety,  that  could  be  demanded  for  the  successful  prosecu 
tion  of  the  effort,  existed,  nor  could  circumstances  ever  be 
well  imagined  that  were  more  favourable  to  success.  What 
was  the  result  ?  It  is  before  the  world,  and  the  world  has  it 
by  heart.  The  Puritan  spirit  gradually  rose  and  increased. 
It  became  chafed,  and  galled,  and  was  impatient  under  the 
fetters  of  form.  It  sighed  for  freedom;  and  in  a  single  clay 
two  thousand  of  the  best  men  in  the  English  church  left  their 
livings — exposed  themselves  to  poverty,  persecution,  and  im 
prisonment,  only  because  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  could  not  be 
permanently  blended  with  the  religion  of  forms  Part  of 
those  men  went  to  prison;  all  were  subjected  to  privations 
and  sorrows  in  their  external  circumstances ; — but  the  evan 
gelical  spirit  was  free,  and  the  "  church"  was  left  a  cold, 
dead,  dull,  formal  thing.  The  vital  power  of  the  Episcopal 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    oo7 

communion  had  withdrawn,  and  there  were  no  earthly  tempta 
tions  that  could  ever  again  induce  the  Puritan  to  seek  a  union 
with  the  religion  of  forms.  The  experiment  had  been  made 
under  the  most  advantageous  circumstances  possible,  and  it 
was  decisive. 

A  portion  of  the  band  of  Puritans,  driven  from  their  coun 
try  to  Holland,  and  then  across  the  ocean,  found  a  refuge  on 
the  rock  of  Plymouth,  and  gave  their  religion  to  this  great 
Western  World.  Here  all  was  free  and  vast.  A  boundless 
territory  was  spread  out  before  them,  and  they  laid  the  foun 
dation  of  a  religious  system  which  they  intended  should  be 
forever  separated  from  a  religion  of  forms.  Its  effect  is 
seen  in  the  religious  activity  and  zeal,  the  intelligence 
and  order,  the  revivals  and  the  efforts  to  spread  the  gospel 
abroad,  which  distinguish  our  republic  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth. 

But  the  history  of  the  religion  of  forms  in  our  father-land 
is  not  completed.  The  separating  of  the  Puritans  had  left  the 
church  a  dry,  cold,  dead  thing.  Again,  however,  God  visited 
that  church  with  the  special  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
there  was  a  reviving  and  quickening  spirit  of  religion.  God 
breathed  upon  the  heart  of  the  Wesleys,  and  of  Fletcher,  and 
of  Whitefield,  and  fired  them  with  as  devoted  a  zeal  as  had  ever 
warmed  the  bosom  of  a  Puritan.  They  were  In  the  church, 
and  were  converted  when  connected  with  it.  They  loved  it. 
They  shrank  back  from  the  very  thought  of  a  separation. 
John  Wesley  lived  and  laboured,  and  prayed  night  and  day, 
that  he  might  not  separate  himself  from  the  church  in  which 
he  was  reared,  but  that  there  might  be  diffused  through  all 
that  communion  the  spirit  of  evangelical  religion.  Never  was 
there  a  more  honest,  vigorous,  or  persevering  effort  to  unite  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  with  the  religion  of  forms,  but  in  vain. 
That  vital  part  of  the  Church  of  England  which  had  been 
Muickoucd  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  bind 


388  ESSAYS   AND   REVIEWS. 

them  together,  drew  off  by  itself,  breathing  the  air  of  freedom 
and  spreading  the  heavenly  fire  over  continents. 

Until  the  present  time,  the  result  of  the  experiment  has 
been  uniform.  The  religion  of  forms  has  never  been  perma 
nently  blended  with  the  gospel.  The  experiment  is  again 
made  in  our  land  and  in  our  father-land,  with  what  result  is  a 
matter  of  great  interest  to  the  whole  Christian  world,  but  what 
that  result  will  be  no  one  can  reasonably  doubt.  That  there 
should  be  outbreaks  and  collisions ;  that  the  love  of  revivals 
and  of  prayer-meetings,  and  the  purpose  to  mingle  with  other 
denominations  in  great  efforts  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  should  bring  the  patrons  of  these  things  into  conflict 
with  the  high-church  party,  is  to  be  expected.  They  are 
the  regular  results  of  the  existing  state  of  things  in  the  Epis 
copal  Church,  and  they  cannot  be  avoided.  Such  conflicts 
will  arise,  and  however  much  they  may  be  suppressed  for  a 
time,  and  however  all  parties  may  unite  in  singing  paeans 
to  the  a  unity"  of  the  church,  yet  the  elements  of  collision, 
like  the  pent-up  fires  of  the  volcano,  rage  within.  To  keep 
these  elements  under;  to  prevent  entire  separation  and  a  pros 
tration  of  the  whole  fabric,  requires  all  the  power  of  authority 
on  the  one  side,  and  all  the  yielding  of  a  Christian  spirit  on 
the  other,  and  a  devout  attachment  to  Prelacy  in  both.  It  is 
the  spirit  of  the  gospel  struggling  in  bonds  and  sighing  for 
freedom.  The  present  state  of  the  Episcopal  Church  is  but 
the  acting  over  again  of  scenes  which  have  been  played  from 
the  beginning.  The  spirit  of  the  true  faith  will  not  be  bound. 
It  does  not  breathe  and  act  freely  when  fettered  with  forms. 
It  cannot  go  forth  freely  to  the  conquest  of  the  souls  of  men, 
or  to  the  subjugation  of  the  world.  If  it  lives,  it  will  be  the 
spirit  of  the  Apostles — unfettered  by  forms ;  the  spirit  of  the 
Waldenses,  of  WicklifFe,  of  Luther,  of  Farel;  of  the  Puritans, 
of  Wesley,  of  Whitefield.  Every  controversy  thus  far  waged, 
where  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  has  come  in  conflict  with  the 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    339 

religion  of  forms,  has  had  one  of  two  results — either  the  spirit 
of  the  gospel  is  suppressed  and  dies  away,  or  the  one  is 
severed  from  the  other,  never  to  be  united  again.  They  never 
have  been,  they  never  can  be  permanently  blended.  Such,  it 
requires  little  sagacity  to  foresee,  must  be  the  result  of  the 
present  controversy  between  the  two  great  parties  in  the  Epis 
copal  Church.  It  is  just  a  struggle  whether  the  love  of  Pre 
lacy,  and  the  cry  of  unity,  and  the  power  of  numbers,  and  of 
wealth,  and  of  the  "  bishops,"  shall  be  sufficient  to  crush  the 
rising  spirit  of  the  gospel,  or  whether  there  will  be  vital 
energy,  and  independence,  and  the  love  of  the  pure  doctrines 
of  the  gospel,  enough  to  break  away  from  all  this,  and  be 
free.  We  should  rejoice  in  the  latter  result — we  anticipate 
the  former — and  we  fear  the  Episcopal  Church  will  still  conti 
nue  to  be  "  one." 

We  have  thus  stated  one  truth,  as  it  seems  to  us,  of  great 
importance  in  regard  to  the  position  of  the  evangelical  party 
in  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  the  probable  result  of  their 
struggles.  In  illustrating  the  nature  of  their  relative  position, 
and  the  difficulties  with  which  they  have  to  contend,  we  now 
proceed  to  remark,  that  tliey  are  compelled  to  use  a  liturgy 
wliich  counteracts  the  effect  of  their  teaching.  We  have 
stated  that  they  are  no  less  sincerely  attached  to  the  Prayer- 
book,  and  no  less  disposed  to  laud  its  excellence  above  all 
other  uninspired  productions,  than  the  most  staunch  defender 
of  high-church  principles.  And  yet,  what  is  the  effect  of  the 
perpetual  use  of  this  book  on  an  attempt  to  diffuse  evangelical 
doctrines  through  the  Episcopal  Church. 

The  prescription  to  use  the  liturgy  in  the  worship  of  God 
is  binding  religiously  on  all  the  ministers  and  members  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  The  whole  service  for  public  worship,  for 
marriages,  for  baptisms,  for  funerals,  is  prescribed.  Every 
prayer  to  be  offered  is  set  down;  every  portion  of  Scripture 
to  be  read  is  designated ;  and  every  address,  with  the  single 


340  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

exception  of  the  sermon,  is  already  composed.  At  a  baptism, 
a  marriage,  or  a  funeral,  it  does  not  appear  from  the  canons 
that  a  minister  is  to  be  allowed  either  to  offer  an  extemporary 
prayer,  or  to  make  an  extemporary  address.  Even  the  form 
of  prayer  in  a  family  is  prescribed,  and  the  "  master  or  mis 
tress  having  called  together  as  many  of  the  family  as  can  con 
veniently  be  present,  is  to  say  as  follows" — morning  and 
evening.  The  directions  for  public  worship  are  all  positive 
and  explicit :  ((  The  minister  sliall  begin  the  morning  prayer 
by  reading  one  or  more  of  the  following  portions  of  Scripture." 
u  Then  the  minister  shall  say."  "  The  people  shall  answer 
here."  "  Then  the  minister  shall  kneel  and  say  the  Lord's 
prayer;"  "then  likewise  he  shall  say;"  "then  shall  be  said 
or  sung  the  following  anthem ;"  "  then  shall  follow  a  portion 
of  the  Psalms;"  "then  shall  be  read  the  first  lesson  according 
to  the  table  or  calendar,"  and  "  before  every  lesson  the  minis 
ter  shall  say,  Here  beginneth  such  a  chapter  or  verse  of  such 
a  chapter  of  such  a  book" — and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
Prayer-book.  All  the  discretion  which  is  allowed,  appears  to 
be  the  following : — that  he  may  choose  some  one  of  half  a 
dozen  a  collects"  of  half  a  dozen  lines  each ;  that  at  the  end 
of  the  Venite,  Bencdicite,  Jubilate,  Benedictus,  Cantate  Do 
mino,  etc.,  there  "may  be  said  or  sung  the  Gloria  Patri;" 
that  he  has  a  choice  between  two  forms  of  the  creed — a  longer 
and  a  shorter  form  •  and  that  he  may  introduce  into  the  morn 
ing  service  more  or  less  of  the  quite  tedious  communion  ser 
vice.  With  these  quite  unimportant  discretionary  powers, 
the  prescriptions  are  absolute,  and  the  design  was  undoubtedly 
to  render  the  service  of  the  church  wholly  uniform.  There  is 
no  discretion  given  in  regard  to  extemporary  prayer.  There  is 
no  permission  on  any  occasion  to  go  beyond  what  is  written 
down.  If  there  is  any  special  emergency  requiring  a  form  of 
prayer  different  from  any  of  those  which  are  printed,  it  is 
necessary  to  wait  until  it  can  be  prepared  in  the  authorized 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    341 

quarter,  and  sent  down  to  the  inferior  clergy.  There  is  no 
permission  to  hold  prayer-meetings,  and  the  liturgy  docs  not 
contemplate  any  such  thing  as  a  prayer-meeting.  There  is  not 
even  permission  given  to  the  minister  to  select  and  read  a  por 
tion  of  Scripture  that  shall  have  any  relation  to  the  subject  on 
which  he  is  to  preach.  If  his  text  should  happen  to  be  "God 
,so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son/'  and 
the  "lesson"  for  that  day  should  happen  to  be  that  chapter 
of  the  book  of  Chronicles  which  commences  thus,  u  Adam, 
Slictli,  Enosh,  Kenan,  Mahalaleel,  Jered,  Henoch,  Methuse- 
leh,  Lamech,"  all  that  the  minister  is  to  do,  is  to  say,  "  here 
beginneth  such  a  chapter,"  and  read  on. 

We  are  aware  that  the  low-church  party  do  sometimes  hold 
prayer-meetings,  and  that  occasionally  an  extemporary  prayer 
is  offered  after  sermon  ;  and  we  will  do  them  the  justice  to  say, 
that,  so  far  as  we  have  heard,  their  prayers  are  models  of  a 
simple,  pure,  and  holy  worship,  and  arc  such  as  to  prompt 
irresistibly  to  the  expression  of  regret  that  they  are  not  per 
mitted  by  their  book  to  pour  out  their  souls  in  this  manner, 
and  that  they  are  fettered  by  forms.  But  we  believe  that 
they  themselves  regard  such  prayers,  and  such  prayer-meet 
ings,  as  a  departure  from  the  prescribed  mode  of  worship. 
We  know  that  the  high-church  party  consider  them  a  direct 
violation  of  the  prescribed  rules  of  the  church.  We  consider 
them  as  wholly  unauthorized  by  the  church.  We  see  no  per 
mission  of  such  things ;  we  see  no  latitude  of  discretion  in 
regard  to  such  things;  we  believe  that  such  a  thing  as  a 
prayer-meeting,  where  extemporary  prayer  should  be  offered, 
and  especially  by  laymen,  is  a  thing  not  contemplated  by  the 
canons  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

What  then  is  the  inevitable  tendency  of  the  constant  use 
of  the  liturgy  according  to  the  manner  prescribed?  Or, 
which  amounts  to  the  same  thing  so  far  as  the  subject  before 
us  is  concerned,  what  must  be  the  effect  of  its  use  even  as  it 

29* 


842  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

is  employed  by  the  low-church  party,  in  regard  to  the  preach 
ing  of  evangelical  doctrines  ?  They  hold,  we  have  conceded, 
the  great  doctrines  of  grace.  They  teach  the  necessity  of 
regeneration  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  insist 
on  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  They  are  friendly 
to  revivals  of  religion.  Do  the  arrangements  in  the  liturgy 
harmonize  with  these  efforts  ?  So  far  from  it,  we  think,  that 
their  teaching  and  the  Prayer-book  come  into  perpetual  con 
flict  •  and  where  the  Prayer-book  is  to  be  perpetually  used, 
the  result  of  such  a  conflict  cannot  be  doubtful. 

We  do  not  advert  now  to  the  fact,  though  we  might  do  it, 
that  preaching  in  the  Episcopal  Church  is  quite  a  secondary 
thing,  and  that  the  arrangement  is  so  made  as  to  allow  it  to 
produce  as  little  effect  as  possible.  A  whole  hour  of  the  ser 
vice,  if  performed  with  any  degree  of  deliberate  solemnity,  is 
occupied  inevitably  with  the  prayers  and  other  forms  of  devo 
tion.  After  this  protracted  and  wearisome  service,  it  cannot 
be  supposed  that  the  mind  will  be  in  a  very  desirable  state  to 
listen  to  a  sermon  of  any  considerable  length.  The  ordinary 
length  of  Episcopal  sermons — from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes 
— we  regard  as  in  entire  accordance  with  the  arrangements  in 
the  Episcopal  Church;  a  sermon  of  fifty  minutes  or  an  hour, 
becomes  intolerable.  In  another  communion — the  mother  of 
Episcopacy — the  pulpit  is  placed  in  a  corner  of  the  church ; 
in  the  Episcopal  Church  the  sermon  is  designed  to  occupy  the 
same  relative  position. 

But  the  difficulties  encountered  by  the  evangelical  party  lie 
deeper  than  this.  We  mean,  that  they  are  compelled  perpe 
tually  to  use  a  liturgy  which  counteracts  all  their  teaching. 
The  liturgy  is  opposed  to  the  views  of  the  low-church  Episco 
palian,  and  to  the  whole  influence  of  his  teaching,  and  is  a 
constant  influence.  To  some  of  the  views  thus  constantly 
brought  before  the  people  in  the  Prayer-book,  opposed  to  the 
evangelical  teaching,  we  will  now  advert. 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CIIUUCII.    848 

There  is,  first,  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration — a 
doctrine  which  we  regard  as  the  undoubted  teaching  of  the 
Prayer-book,  and  which  presents  a  constantly  counteracting 
influence  to  the  doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart 
by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanying  the  truth. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Prayer-book  is,  that  a  child  that  is  bap 
tized  in  a  proper  manner,  is  (<  regenerated  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
The  language  of  the  liturgy  on  this  subject  is  as  explicit  as 
language  can  be,  and  we  have  never  seen  any  explanation  by 
the  advocates  of  low-church  views,  which  seemed  to  us  to  have 
the  least  degree  of  plausibility.  The  language  on  this  subject, 
in  respect  to  the  public  baptism  of  infant  children,  is  the 
following  : — The  "•  minister,"  after  the  baptism  and  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  is  commanded  to  '•  say" — "  Seeing  now, 
dearly  beloved,  that  this  child  is  regenerate,  and  grafted  into 
the  body  of  Christ's  church,  let  us  give  thanks  unto  Almighty 
God  for  these  benefits/'  etc. — "  We  yield  thee  hearty  thanks, 
most  merciful  Father,  that  it  hath  pleased  thee  to  regenerate 
this  infant  with  tliy  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive  him  for  thine  own 
child  by  adoption,  and  to  incorporate  him  into  thy  holy 
church."  The  same  doctrine  is  expressed  in  reference  to  the 
"private  baptism  of  children."  After  the  baptism,  and  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  the  "  minister"  is  directed  also  to  "  say" — 
"  this  child  is  regenerate,  and  grafted  into  the  body  of  Christ's 
church;"  and  in  like  manner  to  give  thanks,  "  that  it  hath 
pleased  thee  to  regenerate  this  infant  with  thy  Holy  Spirit,  to 
receive  him  for  thine  own  child  by  adoption,  and  to  incorpo 
rate  him  into  thy  holy  church."  But  this  doctrine,  that  by 
baptism  there  is  regenerating  grace  bestowed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  is  held  not  only  in  reference  to  infants  and  children, 
but,  if  possible,  still  more  clearly  in  reference  to  "  those  of 
riper  years."  In  the  canonical  directions  on  this  subject,  we 
find  in  the  Prayer-book  the  following  things  : — (1.)  The  peo 
ple  are  told  that  "all  men  are  conceived  and  born  in  sin," 


344  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

tliat  "  none  can  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  except  they 
be  regenerate  and  born  anew  of  water  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
and  are  exhorted  to  "  call  upon  God  the  Father  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  of  his  bounteous  goodness  he  will 
grant  to  these  persons  that  which  by  nature  they  cannot  have, 
that  they  may  be  baptized  with  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost." 
(2.)  The  following  prayers  are  then  directed  to  be  offered  : 
"  Mercifully  look  upon  these  thy  servants ;  wash  them,  and 
sanctify  them  with  the  HoJg  Ghost;  that  they  being  delivered 
from  thy  wrath,  may  be  received  into  the  ark  of  Christ's 
church."  And  again  :  "  Give  thy  Holy  Spirit  to  these  per 
sons,  that  they  may  be  born  again,  and  be  made  heirs  of  ever 
lasting  salvation,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  (3.)  After 
baptism,  and  the  sign  of  the  cross,  the  minister  is  directed  to 
say :  (l  Seeing  now,  dearly  beloved,  that  these  persons  are 
regenerate,  and  grafted  into  the  body  of  Christ's  church,  let 
us  give  thanks  unto  Almighty  God  for  these  benefits."  The 
thanksgiving  then  follows,  and  then  this  prayer :  "  Give  thy 
Holy  Spirit  to  these  persons;  that,  being  now  lorn  again,  and 
made  heirs  of  everlasting  salvation  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  they  may  continue  thy  servants,"  etc.  Here  is  a  regu 
lar  order  in  the  teachings.,  prayers,  and  thanksgivings,  all 
implying  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  and  all 
implying  that  that  regeneration  is  accomplished  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  There  is  the  exhortation  to  the  people  to  pray  for 
this  ]  then  the  prayer  actually  offered  for  this ;  and  then  a 
solemn  form  of  thanksgiving  that  it  has  been  done.  And  that 
this  is  the  true  teaching  of  the  liturgy  on  this  subject,  and  that 
the  meaning  is  not,  as  some  Episcopalians  have  endeavoured 
to  show,  that  the  word  "  regeneration"  here  means  a  mere 
"  change  of  state,"  or  a  transition  from  the  world  into  the 
church,  seems  to  us  to  be  perfectly  clear ;  for,  (1.)  Such  is 
not  the  meaning  of  the  Scripture  terms,  "  regeneration,"  and 
"being  born  again,"  employed  in  this  service.  In  the  Bible 


F.VAXGK LICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    345 

tin  y  cannot  be  understood  to  have  tins  meaning,  and  there  is 
no  evidence  that  the  framcrs  of  the  liturgy  meant  to  depart 
from  the  Scripture  usage.  (2.)  The  regeneration  here  spoken 
of,  is  not  a  mere  "change  of  state  or  relation. "  It  is  a  change 
of  regeneration  l>y  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  what  is  prayed 
for;  what  is  taught  as  having  been  accomplished;  and  that 
for  which  "  hearty  thanks"  are  given  when  the  form  of  bap 
tism  is  passed  through.  Now  regeneration  by  the  agency  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Scriptures,  means  a  definite  thing 
It  is  not  a  transition  from  heathenism  to  nominal  Christianity; 
it  is  not  a  mere  profession  of  religion ;  it  is  a  work  on  the 
heart  itself,  by  which  that  is  changed,  and  by  which  the  soul 
begins  to  live  anew  unto  God.  (3.)  This  cannot  be  the  mean 
ing  in  the  liturgy.  Is  it  possible  to  believe  that  sensible  men 
should  gravely  entreat  a  whole  congregation  to  offer  fervent 
prayers,  that  certain  persons  then  present  might  be  enabled  to 
Join  a  church?  Is  it  necessary  for  all  this  parade  and  cere 
mony,  and  all  this  solemn  invocation  of  the  special  aid  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit,  that  they  might  be  enabled  to  chanye  their 
•relation?  xls  this  a  work  so  difficult  to  be  performed  as  to 
need  the  special  interposition  of  heaven  in  the  case,  and  that 
no  one  could  hope  to  be  able  to  cb  it  without  the  particular 
influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  And  is  religion  in  the  Epis 
copal  Church  such  a  solemn  trifling  as  this  representation 
would  imply?  We  do  not  believe  it;  and  despite  all  the 
efforts  of  low-church  Episcopalians  to  explain  this,  we  believe 
that  the  high  church  and  the  Puseyites  have  the  fair  interpre 
tation  of  this  part  of  the  liturgy,  that  it  is  intended  to  teach 
the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  and  that  this  will  be 
the  impression  ever  made  on  the  great  mass  of  those  who  use 
the  Prayer-book. 

Now  these  prayers,  teachings,  and  thanksgivings,  occur 
constantly.  Whenever  an  infant  or  an  adult  is  to  be  baptized, 
the  low  churchman,  as  well  as  the  high  churchman,  is  com 


346 


ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 


pelled  to  publish  this  doctrine.  He  has  no  discretion.  The 
whole  service,  from  beginning  to  end,  is  to  be  read  through, 
and  no  matter  what  may  be  his  public  teaching  as  a  preacher, 
or  his  private  views,  he  is  under  a  necessity  of  teaching  the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration.  He  gives  public  thanks 
in  reference  to  every  child  as  well  as  every  adult  that  is  bap 
tized  and  sealed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  that  he  -is  regene 
rated  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  made  an  heir  of  everlasting  life. 
What  will  be,  then,  the  force  of  his  preaching,  on  the  subject 
of  the  new  birth  or  the  change  of  heart,  in  the  proper  sense 
of  the  term  ?  What  impression  will  be  made  on  those  already 
"  regenerated  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  in  baptism,  in  regard  to 
this  ?  Can  such  preaching  be  intended  for  them  ?  Can  it  be 
applicable  to  any  but  the  heathen  and  the  unbaptized;  for 
pagans,  scoffers,  and  l(  dissenters?"  Are  not  all  others  already 
born  again  ? 

A  second  difficulty  of  a  similar  kind  derived  from  the 
liturgy,  with  which  the  evangelical  churchman  is  obliged  to 
contend,  relates  to  the  doctrine  of  "  confirmation."  If  we  un 
derstand  the  views  of  low  churchmen,  they  accord  with  our 
own  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart,  and  of 
evidence  of  personal  piety,  as  qualifications  for  communion. 
They  do  not  suppose  that  regenerating  grace  is  conferred 
either  by  confirmation  or  the  "  eucharist,"  nor  do  they  hold 
that  persons  should  be  admitted  to  either  without  evidence  of 
personal  religion.  We  believe  that  they  are  sincerely  aiming 
to  guard  the  Lord's  table  from  the  approach  of  all  who  do  not 
give  evidence  that  they  are  truly  "  born  again" — not  of  bap 
tism,  but  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

They  are  undoubtedly  right  in  these  views ;  but  are  these 
the  views  of  their  liturgy?  Does  the  Prayer-book  contem 
plate  this  ?  Have  they,  as  Episcopalians,  a  right  to  rest  in 
this,  and  to  exclude  from  "  confirmation"  and  the  Lord's  sup 
per  all  who  do  not  give  them  evidence  that  they  are  truly 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    347 

converted,  or  are  truly  pious?  We  think  they  have  not;  and 
that  in  their  efforts  on  this  subject  they  arc  not  only  departing 
from  their  own  standards,  but  arc  in  the  very  matter  compelled 
to  use  a  liturgy,  tjie  tendency  of  which  is  to  counteract  and 
render  nugatory  all  their  own  instructions  and  efforts.  We 
believe  that  the  Prayer-book  does  not  contemplate,  in  order  to 
confirmation,  any  other  regeneration  than  that  of  water-bap 
tism,  or  any  other  qualification  than  that  of  following  out  the 
arrangement  at  baptism.  In  support  of  this,  we  turn  at  once 
to  the  Prayer-book  itself,  and  find  the  arrangements  there 
contemplated  in  reference  to -"confirmation"  and  the  Lord's 
supper,  to  be  the  following:  The  minister  is  directed  to  say,  not 
to  the  parents  of  the  child,  but  to  the  "godfathers  and  god 
mothers,''  after  baptism  is  administered,  "Ye  are  to  take  care 
that  this  child  be  brought  to  the  bishop  to  be  confirmed  by 
him,  so  soon  as  he  can  say  the  creed,  the  Lord's  prayer,  and 
the  ten  commandments,  and  is  sufficiently  instructed,  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  church  catechism  set  forth  for  that  pur 
pose."  We  observe  here  no  requirement  of  any  change  of 
heart,  or  of  any  evidence  of  piety  whatever.  We  do  not 
believe  that  an  acquaintance  with  the  creed,  the  Lord's  prayer, 
the  ten  commandments,  and  the  church  catechism,  necessarily 
infers  the  possession  of  renewing  and  saving  grace ;  and,  as 
these  are  all  that  is  specified,  we  do  not  see  what  right  any 
churchman  has  to  add  thereto.  To  us,  the  only  question 
which  it  would  seem  to  be  proper  to  propound  to  a  candidate 
for  confirmation  would  be,  whether  he  could  "  say  the  creed, 
the  Lord's  prayer,  the  ten  commandments,"  and  the  "parts 
of  the  church  catechism  set  forth  for  that  purpose."  Why 
has  any  minister  a  right  to  require  any  thing  more  ?  Why  is 
he  any  more  at  liberty  to  demand  evidence  of  what  //•"  regards 
a>$  a  change  of  heart,  than  he  has  to  insist  that  tho  candidate 
shall  be  familiar  with  the  Westminster  Confession  or  the  Say- 
brook  Platform?  As  these  are  all  the  requirements  specified, 


848  ESSAYS    AND    11EVIEWS. 

we  naturally  turn  to  "the  other  parts  of  the  church  catechism 
set  forth"  with  reference  to  the  rite  of  confirmation,  to  inquire 
whether  that  contemplates  a  change  of  heart  as  a  qualification 
for  that  rite. 

The  church  catechism  has  the  following  title  in  the  Prayer- 
book  :  "A  Catechism;  that  is  to  say,  An  Instruction,  to  be 
learned  by  every  person  before  he  is  brought  to  the  Bishop  to 
be  confirmed  by  the  Bishop."  The  qualification  which  is 
here  specified,  in  accordance  with  that  which  is  stated  at  the 
baptism  as  necessary  in  order  to  confirmation,  is  not  that  there 
shall  be  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart,  or  any  vital  transfor 
mation  of  character  after  baptism,  but  that  this  catechism  has 
been  learned;  that  is,  committed  to  memory,  before  he  is 
brought  to  the  bishop. 

This  catechism  contains  the  creed,  the  ten  commandments, 
the  Lord's  prayer,  and  a  few  questions  and  answers  growing 
out  of  each,  and  on  the  nature  of  the  sacraments.  The 
inquiry  now  is,  with  what  qualifications  and  character  one 
would  "  be  brought  to  the  bishop"  who  should  have  strictly 
complied  with  the  directions  in  the  Prayer-book  ?  Would  it 
be  necessary  that  he  should  furnish  evidence  of  a  change  of 
heart;  or  would  it  be  right  to  reject  his  application  for  the 
communion  if  he  could  "say  the  creed,  the  Lord's  prayer, 
and  the  ten  commandments,  and  had  learned  the  other  parts 
of  the  church  catechism  set  forth  for  that  purpose  ?"  These 
qualifications  may  be  learned  from  a  few  of  the  questions 
directed  to  be  proposed  to  the  candidate,  and  the  answers 
which  he  is  required  to  give.  The  first  thing  which  we  meet 
with  is  the  odious  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration — the 
elementary  idea  of  Episcopacy  as  it  is  in  the  Prayer-book,  and 
a  doctrine  on  which  all  that  is  required  to  be  said  by  the  can 
didate  is  based.  (( Question.  What  is  your  name  ?  Ans.  N. 
or  M.  Quest.  Who  gave  you  this  name  ?  Ans.  My  sponsors 
in  baptism;  wherein  I  was  made  a  member  of  Christ,  the 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    349 

child  of  God,  and  the  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  hcaren." 
Then  ice.  would  propound  a  "question"  to  those  Episcopalians 
who  endeavour  to  show  that  regeneration  in  the  Prayer-book 
does  not  mean  a  change  of  heart,  but  a  change  of  state.  It 
is  this  :  What  more  can  there  be  in  the  new  birth,  or  in  rege 
neration  as  effected  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  than  to  be  made  "a 
member  of  Christ,  the  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ?"  Yet  all  this  the  candidate  is  to  affirm 
was  secured  to  him  in  baptism.  The  same  doctrine  we  have 
affirmed  again  in  still  stronger  terms,  if  possible,  in  this  same 
catechism  which  is  to  be  "learned."  "  Quest.  What  is  the 
outward  visible  sign  or  form  in  baptism?  Ans.  Water; 
wherein  the  person  is  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Quest.  What  is  the 
inward  and  spiritual  grace  ?  Ans.  A  death  unto  sin  and  a 
new  birth  unto  righteousness  :  For  being  by  nature  born  unto 
sin,  and  the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  made  the  chil 
dren  of  grace."  That  all  this  is  supposed  to  be  conferred  by 
baptism,  is  apparent  from  the  previous  answers  on  the  nature 
of  the  sacraments.  "  Quest.  How  many  sacraments  hath 
Christ  ordained  in  his  church  ?  Ans.  Two  only,  as  generally 
necessary  unto  salvation ;  that  is  to  say,  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper.  Quest.  What  meanest  thou  by  this  word  Sa 
crament?  Ans.  I  mean  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an 
inward  and  spiritual  grace,  given  unto  us,  ordained  by  Christ 
himself;  as  a  means  whereby  we  RECEIVE  the  same  and  a 
PLEDGE  to  assure  us  thereof."  The  necessity  of  grace  is  not 
indeed  anywhere  denied,  but  it  is  affirmed  here,  as  it  is  im 
plied  everywhere  in  the  Prayer-book,  that  the  grace  is  imparted 
at  baptism,  and  the  " invisible  sign"  and  the  "inward  grace" 
go  together. 

With    these  views,   and    having    "learned"    to   say    these 
things,  the  candidate  is  to  be  brought  to  the  bishop  to  be  con 
firmed.     Y\re  are  ready  to  acknowledge  that  many  or  most 
Vor,.  T.  30 


350  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

of  the  questions  directed  to  be  propounded  to  the  candidate 
are  solemn  and  pertinent.  On  the  supposition  that  they  were 
propounded  to  one  who  had  been  truly  converted,  they  arc 
such  questions  as  ought  to  be  proposed  to  all  who  make  a 
profession  of  religion.  But  what  is  their  weight,  or  power, 
or  pertinency,  when  addressed  to  one  who  is  taught  to  say 
that  by  infant  baptism  he  was  "  made  a  child  of  God,  a 
member  of  Christ,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  hea 
ven,"  and  that  his  sponsors  made  certain  promises  for  him 
in  baptism  which  he  has  come  now  to  relieve  them  from, 
by  ratifying  f  em  himself? 

Now  what  will  be  the  effect  of  this  standing  and  stereo 
typed  system  of  instruction,  on  the  preaching  of  the  evan 
gelical  part  of  the  Episcopal  Church  ?  They  aim  to  teach 
a  different  thing  from  this.  They  strive  to  teach,  and  they 
really  believe,  that  water  baptism,  however  administered,  does 
not  impart  all  the  grace  which  is  needful  to  the  salvation 
of  the  soul.  But  here  stands  this  catechism  which  they  are 
to  teach,  and  which  conveys  lessons  so  plain  that  it  is  sup 
posed  a  child  may  understand  them,  and,  alas !  so  plain  that 
we  fear  they  are  understood  and  believed  by  the  great  mass 
of  those  who  are  "  brought  to  the  bishop  to  be  confirmed." 
We  can  easily  imagine  what  the  effect  would  be,  if,  in  a  Con 
gregational  or  Presbyterian  church,  all  the  children  were  to 
be  taught  that  regeneration  was  imparted  by  baptism  properly 
administered,  and  that  all  they  had  to  do  in  order  to  be  quali 
fied  for  the  communion,  was  to  u  learn  to  say"  this.  Where 
would  be  our  revivals  of  religion  ? 

We  are  aware  that  the  evangelical  party  in  the  Episcopal 
Church  endeavour  to  evade  this.  We  know  that  many  of 
them  insist  that  the  candidates  for  confirmation  shall  give 
evidence  to  them  that  they  are  truly  converted,  and  that  by 
the  exercise  of  what  they  seem  to  regard  as  their  right,  they 
restrain  those  from  confirmation  whom  they  do  not  judge  to  bo 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,    ool 

qualified  for  the  communion.  Aware  of  the  obvious  and  dan 
gerous  tendency  of  the  system  as  set  down  in  the  Praycr-hi-uk, 
they  claim  the  right  of  not  presenting  to  the  bishop  for  con 
firmation,  those  whom  they  do  not  regard  as  qualified  for  it. 
We  have  no  doubt  that  in  doing  this,  they  are  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  New  Testament,  which  plainly  teach o.-; 
that  repentance  and  faith  are  indispensable  qualification 
the  Lord's  table.  But  is  this  Episcopacy  ?  Have  they  this 
right  according  to  the  canons  of  their  own  church  ?  We 
think  not.  We  are  willing  to  allow  that  there  must  be  some 
discretion  allowed  to  the  officiating  minister  or  rector  of  a 
parish  in  regard  to  those  who  are  to  be  presented,  as  the  foil- 
rules  of  interpretation  seem  to  demand  that  he  shall  not  be 
required  to  present  those  who  arc  open  infidels,  or  who  are 
grossly  immoral.  But  has  he  a  right  to  put  his  own  interpre 
tation  on  what  constitutes  a  proper  qualification ;  to  say  that 
baptism  does  not  mean  regeneration;  that  the  child  that  was 
baptized,  was  not  u  made  a  member  of  Christ,  the  child  of 
God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;"  that  it  has 
not  "pleased  God  to  regenerate  him  with  his  Holy  Spirit" 
when  he  was  baptized,  but  that  another  kind  of  regeneration  is 
necessary,  and  to  withhold  him  from  confirmation  until  he 
has  himself  the  evidence  that  he  is  born  again  ?  Has  ho  a, 
right  to  set  his  own  views  thus  against  the  teaching  of  tlio 
church,  and  to  insist  that  his  views  shall  be  complied  with 
contrary  to  the  obvious  meaning  of  the  canons,  and  to  the 
almost  unbroken  custom  of  the  church  ?  We  think  not.  We 
think  that,  by  becoming  an  Episcopal  minister,  he  binds  him 
self  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  obvious  meaning  of  the 

O 

liturgy  in  this  respect,  and  that,  however  his  soul  may  revolt 
at  it,  and  however  contrary  all  this  may  be  to  his  convictions 
of  what  is  taught  in  the  New  Testament,  as  long  as  he  chooses 
to  remain  in  the  church,  he  has  no  discretion.  He  is  the 
servant  of  the  church.  He  has  received  this  Prayer-book  as 


852  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

his  guide,  and  it  is  his  to  carry  out  its  views.  If  he  is  dissa 
tisfied  with  them,  the  way  is  clear.  It  is  to  leave  the  commu 
nion  •  it  is  not  to  introduce  and  defend  practices  contrary  to 
the  elementary  conceptions  of  Episcopacy. 

There  is  another  thought.  The  church  may  be  regarded  as 
making  a  sort  of  compact  with  every  child  that  is  duly  bap 
tized,  that,  if  he  will  comply  with  her  regulations,  he  shall 
be  entitled  at  the  proper  time  to  whatever  advantage  there 
may  be  in  her  full  fellowship  and  favour.  There  is  a  pledge 
given,  through  the  sponsors  at  baptism,  that  if  the  course  of 
life  which  is  then  recommended  is  pursued,  the  child,  as  soon 
as  he  can  say  the  creed  and  the  ten  commandments,  and  has 
been  suitably  instructed  in  the  other  parts  of  the  catechism, 
shall  be  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  confirmation.  We  believe 
that  he  may  forfeit  this  by  an  unholy  and  wicked  life,  but  not 
by  any  interpretation  which  his  pastor  may  choose  to  put  on 
the  terms  of  the  compact  implying  that  he  was  not  made  a 
member  of  Christ  and  a  child  of  God.  On  this  subject,  we 
think,  the  case  is  wholly  parallel  with  that  of  one  who  becomes 
a  li  candidate  for  orders"  in  the  Episcopal  Church  •  and  as 
such  a  candidate,  if  he  complies  with  the  canons  in  the  case, 
has  a  riglit  to  ordination  in  the  church,  so  has  a  youth  who 
has  been  baptized,  and  who  has  learned  to  say  what  is  taught 
him,  a  right  to  confirmation.  The  right  in  the  one  case  is  as 
clear  as  in  the  other.  On  this  subject,  and  with  reference  to 
this  principle,  we  shall  here  submit  the  views  of  a  gentleman 
who  deservedly  occupies  a  very  prominent  position,  not  only 
in  the  evangelical  portion  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  but  in  the 
ministry  of  this  country,  in  regard  to  the  ordination  of  Mr. 
Arthur  Carey.  The  reasoning,  mutatis  mutandis,  applies  as 
well  to  the  case  before  us  as  to  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Carey : 

"It  becomes,  therefore,  a  very  important  question  to  consider, 
what  are  the  rights  of  a  candidate  for  orders.  In  doing  this,  I 
shall  not  deem  it  necessary  to  refer  to  particular  canons,  which 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    353 

are  well  known,  but  to  consider  the  course  through  which  a  caiv 
(Mate  is  led  by  the  authority  and  the  appointment  of  the  church. 
Our  canons  lay  open  this  path  with  great  distinctness.  They  also 
guard  it,  and  limit  it,  with  marked  and  peculiar  restraints.  The 
question  is,  does  a  perfect  compliance  with  all  these,  directions  and 
restraints  give,  from  the  church  to  the  candidate,  a  right  to  expect 
and  to  claim  his  orders  at  the  last,  nothing  appearing  in  any  legal 
way  to  vitiate  this  performance  of  his  required  course  ?  A  young 
man  is  invited  to  become  a  candidate  for  orders,  for  the  plan  laid 
fiut  for  him  amounts  to  an  invitation.  He  obtains  his  certificates 
of  personal  character,  and  is  regularly  received  and  recorded  by 
the  bishop  as  a  candidate.  He  pursues  his  prescribed  course  of 
studies  under  the  direction  of  his  bishop.  lie  passes  satisfactorily 
to  the  bishop  arid  presbyters  his  required  examinations.  lie  pre 
sents  his  regular  certificates  for  ordination.  lie  subscribes  the 
required  declaration  of  conformity.  lie  has  thus  finished  and  com 
pleted  his  prescribed  course  of  education  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
authorities  under  which  he  has  been  placed.  Now  has  he  acquired 
a  right  upon  the  faith  of  the  church,  with  whose  prescriptions  he 
has  fully  complied,  to  the  ordination  which  he  seeks  ?  It  must  be 
granted,  of  course,  that  if  his  qualifications,  mental  or  moral,  are 
ultimately  found  insufficient,  he  may  be  justly  rejected.  If  his  ex 
amining  bishop  and  presbyters  are  dissatisfied  with  the  one,  they 
have  certainly  the  right  to  reject  him  there.  If  any  persons  are 
acquainted  with  moral  crimes,  which,  if  known,  would  actually  over 
turn  all  the  worth  and  influence  of  his  certificates  of  character, 
they  may  declare  them  at  the  very  last  moment,  and  he  may  be 
arrested  there.  But  if  his  examinations  have  been  satisfactory  to 
the  persons  appointed  to  direct  them,  and  his  character  is  un 
stained  with  moral  crime,  has  he  not  a  right  secured  to  him  to 
the  ordination,  for  which  he  has  fulfilled  his  appointed  prepara 
tion  ?  Or  is  it  to  be  considered  by  him,  and  for  him,  utterly  un 
certain,  to  the  very  last  moment,  whether  he  shall  be  allowed  to 
gain  the  object  of  his  wish  ?  May  he  finish  his  curriculum  of  study, 
and  fulfil  every  requisition  of  the  church  under  whose  care  he  is 
placed,  receive  the  approbation  of  the  chief  ministers  appointed 
over  him,  gain  all  the  required  certificates  of  unspotted  character, 
raid  be  admitted  to  record  his  name  in  the  bishop's  register,  to  the 
constitutional  promise  of  conformity  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline 

30* 


354  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

of  the  church,  and  thus  have  his  acceptance  to  orders,  as  it  Avere, 
acknowledged  to  him,  and  his  mind  authorized  to  rest  in  peaceful 
expectation  of  his  ordination,  and  yet  may  he  be  exposed  to  be  ar 
rested,  in  the  very  attainment  of  his  desire,  by  the  possible  judg 
ment  of  two  persons  in  the  assembled  congregation,  that  he  is 
deficient  or  erroneous  in  religious  doctrine,  or  theological  training? 
I  confess  this  amounts  in  my  view  to  extreme  oppression.  What 
young  man  of  honourable  and  ingenuous  feelings  would  be  willing 
to  expose  himself  to  this  possible  disgrace,  and  this  entire  uncer 
tainty  of  prospect  ?  Or  what  Christian  parent  would  be  willing,  in 
the  face  of  such  a  hazard,  to  commit  his  son  to  the  faith  and  guar 
dianship  of  a  church,  whose  system  of  law  was  so  insecure  and  so 
destitute  of  all  protection  to  his  character  or  prospects  ?  Yet  if  the 
principle  that  a  final  protest,  founded  upon  the  personal  suspicion 
or  conviction  of  any  persons,  that  the  theological  attainments  and 
preparation  of  the  candidate  are  insufficient  or  unsound,  is  to  be  of 
necessity  regarded,  and  acted  upon  by  the  bishop  ordaining,  to  what 
other  result  than  this  shall  we  be  brought  ?  Will  it  not  completely 
unsettle  our  whole  church,  in  thus  undermining  the  just  prospects 
and  rights  of  the  ministry  at  the  very  commencement  of  their 
course  ?  Will  not  the  secret  reservation  of  such  arbitrary  and  irre 
sponsible  power,  amount  to  a  complete  exclusion  of  desirable  candi 
dates  from  our  ministry  ?  I  am  necessarily  led,  therefore,  from 
these  considerations  to  the  conviction,  that  there  are  rights  secured 
to  the  candidate,  upon  the  implied  faith  of  the  church.  The  con 
nection  seems  to  me  to  have  the  aspect  of  a  mutual  contract.  The 
candidate  voluntarily  yields  himself  to  restraints  and  laws,  to  which 
he  was  not  before  subject,  to  gain  advantages  and  benefits,  which 
are  thus  promised  and  secured  to  him.  The  church,  therefore, 
comes  under  an  obligation  to  bestow  upon  him,  on  the  fulfilment 
of  his  part  of  the  contract,  the  advantages  of  a  ministry,  to  which 
it  has  encouraged  him  to  look ;  and  he,  in  consequence,  has  a  right 
to  the  result  of  his  labours,  which  cannot  be  justly  withheld  from 
him  ?"# 

*  Letter  of  the  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  D.D.,  in  relation  to  the  ordina 
tion  of  Mr.  Arthur  Carey,  published  in  the  Episcopal  Recorder,  October, 
1843.  This  letter  was  understood  at  the  time  of  the  publication  to  have 
been  written  by  Dr.  Tyng,  and  in  a  subsequent  number  of  the  Recorder 
this  is  admitted. 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CIIUHCH.    355 

Now  with  these  principles,  we  do  not  see  how  a  minister 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  can  refuse  to  present  a  candidate  for 
confirmation  who  has  complied  with  the  directions  in  the 
rubric,  even  though  he  should  not  give  him  evidence  that  his 
heart  was  changed.  One  of  the  difficulties,  then,  with  which 
the  evangelical  party  has  to  contend,  is,  that  the  grand,  the 
leading  object  of  an  evangelical  ministry  everywhere — the 
conversion  of  the  soul  to  God  by  the  truth,  the  quickening 
of  a  spirit  dead  in  sin  by  the  preached  gospel,  the  conversion 
and  salvation  of  the  lost  by  the  mighty  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — meets  with  this  counteracting,  this  all-pervading  in 
fluence  in  the  Prayer-book,  and  that  despite  his  private  con 
victions  and  all  his  sense  of  what  is  right  and  true,  he  is 
under  the  high  obligation  of  his  ministerial  vows  to  act 
«.<?  if  a  baptized  child  were  made  u  regenerate  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  and  was  "  a  member  of  Christ,  a  child  of  God,  and  an 
inheritor  of  heaven." 

Our  next  remark  in  regard  to  the  position  of  the  evan 
gelical  party,  is,  that  there  are  no  arrangements  of  provisions 
in  the  liturgy  for  promoting  their  peculiar  and  distinctive 
efforts,  or  which  contemplate  such  efforts.  In  looking  over 
the  Prayer-book  which  the  low  churchman,  in  common  with 
all  other  Episcopalians,  is  under  an  obligation  constantly  to 
use,  the  question  at  once  occurs  whether  those  things  at  which 
he  distinctively  aims  are  contemplated  there  '(  Do  they  fall 
in  with  the  design  of  the  Prayer-book  1  Was  it  the  intention 
of  the  authors  of  the  Prayer-book  to  promote  them,  and  have 
they  made  arrangements  for  them  ?  Or  arc  the  peculiar  things 
which  constitute  the  characteristics  of  the  low-church  party, 
and  which  they  are  endeavouring  so  zealously,  and  with  so 
much  of  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  to  promote — things  which 
they  have  superinduced  upon  the  liturgy,  and  which  they  are 
compelled  to  carry  forward  by  a  system  of  independent  ar- 


856  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

rangcments  ?     We  arc  constrained  to  believe  that  the  latter  is 
the  case,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

1.  We  think  that  Christian  missions  to  the  heathen  are  not 
contemplated  by  the  Prayer-book.  They  were  not  regarded 
as  distinct  objects  of  Christian  effort  at  the  time  when  the 
Prayer-book  was  made,  and  it  has  not  been,  and  we  presume 
could  not  now  so  be  moulded,  as  to  adapt  it  to  the  present 
views  of  Protestant  Christians  in  their  efforts  to  spread  the 
gospel  around  the  world.  To  say  nothing  of  the  cumbrous 
and  unwieldy  nature  of  the  forms  of  Episcopacy  in  reference 
to  missions — of  the  perplexities  which  must  meet  a  mission 
ary  who  should  attempt  to  go  through  the  liturgy  in  a  heathen 
community — of  the  changes  of  vestments  and  postures  which 
it  contemplates;  the  alternations  from  prayer  to  praise,  from 
reading  now  by  the  priest  and  now  by  the  people — of  the  diffi 
culties  arising  from  the  contemplated  necessity  of  responses  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  there  are  other  things  which  lead  us  to 
think  that  the  Prayer-book  was  not  designed  to  be  adapted  to 
missionary  operations.  There  are  no  references  to  such  efforts  ] 
no  prayers  directed  to  be  offered  for  the  success  of  missions ; 
no  allusions  to  churches  gathered  among  the  heathen ;  no 
petitions  that  the  people  may  be  imbued  with  the  missionary 
spirit ;  no  supplications  that  the  missionary  in  heathen  lands 
may  be  sustained  in  his  trials,  and  encouraged  in  his  work. 
We  believe  that  a  congregation  of  Episcopalians  might  use  the 
Prayer-book  any  given  time,  and  strictly  conform  to  all  the 
prescriptions  of  the  rubric,  and  never  have  the  missionary 
spirit  excited  in  the  least  conceivable  degree,  and  never 
dream,  from  any  use  of  that  book,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Christian  church  to  spread  the  gospel  around  the  world.  We 
have  reflected  with  some  care  on  the  forms  of  prayer  there 
prescribed,  and  we  have  been  able  to  recall  in  all  the  peti 
tions  and  all  the  collects  only  the  following  that  has  any 
bearing  on  the  subject — unless  the  incessant  repetition  of  the 


EVANGELICAL  PA11TY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CIIUHCH.    357 

Lord's  prayer,  morning,  mid-day,  and  evening,  and  at  all 
times,  be  an  exception — a  repetition  amounting,  as  far  as  the 
use  of  that  beautiful  form  can  be  made  to,  to  the  fiarcohyta 
so  pointedly  condemned  by  the  Saviour,  (Matt.  vi.  7,) — a  re 
petition  which  seems  to  be  intended  to  be  a  substitute  for  all 
sorts  of  petitions  that  ought  to  be  offered.  We  find  the  fol 
lowing  petitions,  and  those  only,  bearing  on  missions.  The 
first  occurs  in  the  "  Prayer  for  all  Sorts  and  Conditions  of 
Men  :" — "0  God,  the  creator  and  preserver  of  all  mankind, 
we  humbly  beseech  thee  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
that  tliou  wouldst  be  pleased  to  make  thy  ways  known  unto 
them,  thy  saving  health  unto  all  nations."  This  occurs 
again  in  the  evening  prayer,  and  this,  besides  the  petition  in 
the  Lord's  prayer,  is  the  solitary  petition  which  is  regularly 
offered  by  the  whole  Episcopal  Church  from  Sabbath  to  Sab 
bath,  for  the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Beside 
this,  in  one  of  the  r<  collects,"  for  Good-Friday,  designed  to  be 
used  but  once  in  the  year,  we  find  the  following  petition : 
"  0  merciful  God,  who  hast  made  all  men,  and  hatcst  nothing 
that  thou  hast  made,  nor  desirest-  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but 
rather  that  he  should  be  converted  and  live  j  have  mercy 
upon  all  Jews,  Turks,  infidels  and  heretics,  and  take  from 
them  all  ignorance,  hardness  of  heart,  and  contempt  of  thy 
word,  and  so  fetch  them  home,  blessed  Lord,  to  thy  flock,  that 
they  may  be  saved  among  the  remnants  of  the  true  Israelites," 
etc.  The  fact  here  adverted  to  is  the  more  remarkable,  be 
cause  in  the  numerous  instances  in  which  " collects"  are  ap 
pointed  to  be  said,  occasions  are  constantly  occurring  where 
it  would  seem  almost  unavoidable  to  make  some  allusion,  and 
to  offer  some  petition,  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  among  the 
heathen,  and  for  the  success  of  Christian  missions.  Thus  in 
the  collect  for  "  The  Epiphany,  or  the  Manifestation  of  Christ 
to  the  Gentiles,"  we  have  this  prayer:  "0  God,  who  by  the 
leading  of  a  star  didst  manifest  thy  only-begotten  Son  to  the 


358  ESSAYS   AND    KEVIEWS. 

Gentiles,  mercifully  grant  that  we,  who  know  thee  now  by 
faith,  may,  after  this  life,  have  the  fruition  of  thy  glorious 
Godhead,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord/'  Thus  in  the 
collect  on  the  "Conversion  of  St.  Paul :"— "  0  God,  who 
through  the  preaching  of  the  blessed  Apostle  Saint  Paul, 
hast  caused  the  light  of  the  gospel  to  shine  throughout  the 
world,  grant,  we  beseech  thee,  that  ice,  having  his  wonder 
ful  conversion  in  remembrance,  may  show  forth  our  thank 
fulness  unto  thee  for  the  same,  by  following  the  holy  doctrines 
which  he  taught,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  So  on 
"  St.  Peter's  Day,"  and  "  St.  James  the  Apostle,"  and 
"  St.  Bartholomew  the  Apostle,"  and  "  St.  Matthew  the 
Apostle,"  "  St.  Michael  and  all  Angels,"  "  St.  Simon  and 
St.  Jude,  Apostles,"  and  "All  Saints  Day,"  we  have  the 
•same  utter  want  of  allusion  to  the  Christian  duty  of  spreading 
the  gospel — as  if  none  of  these  apostles  had  ever  done  any 
thing  in  such  a  cause,  or  as  if  "  St.  Michael"  and  "All  the 
Saints"  had  no  interest  in  the  universal  of  Christianity.  It  is 
remarkable,  we  think,  that  so  many  "  collects"  could  have 
been  made  by  Christian  men,  without  a  recollection  that  the 
"  Saints"  whose  virtues  are  thus  commended,  were  distin 
guished  more  than  for  any  thing  else  in  spreading  the  gospel 
amono1  the  heathen,  and  that  the  thing  in  which  the  church 

O  /  ~ 

ought  specifically  to  imitate  them  is  their  fidelity  in  obeying 
the  Redeemer's  last  command.  A  missionary  society,  or  a 
missionary  effort,  whether  in  connection  with  other  Christians 
or  by  themselves,  is  a  thing,  we  believe,  unknown  to  the  con 
stitution  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  That  constitution  contem 
plates  a  regularly  organized  congregation,  and  all  the  efforts 
which  are  made  by  that  church  in  behalf  of  missions  are  efforts 
not  contemplated  by  the  liturgy. 

2.  Revivals  of  religion  are  not  contemplated  by  the  Prayer- 
book.  We  believe  that  this  would  be  adverted  to  by  the 
high-church  party  as  an  evidence  of  the  excellence  of  the  book 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    359 

itself,  if  not  as  a  proof  of  its  semi-inspiration.  But  the 
evangelical  party  have  different  views  of  the  desirableness 
of  such  works  of  grace.  We  do  not  doubt  that  they  as  sin 
cerely  rejoice  as  others  do  when  the  Spirit  of  God  descends 
with  power  on  a  people,  and  when  many  are  brought  simulta 
neously  to  embrace  the  Saviour.  In  the  proper  measures  for 
promoting  such  a  work,  they  sympathize  with  their  brethren 
of  other  churches.  They  would  dwell  on  the  same  topics  in 
preaching;  urge  with  the  same  ardour  the  doctrines  of  depra 
vity,  of  justification  by  faith,  and  of  the  necessity  of  regene 
ration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  give  substantially  the  same 
counsel  to  an  inquiring  sinner.  They  admit  the  efficacy  of 
protracted  services,  or,  as  they  choose  to  call  them,  "  associa 
tions;"  and,  in  addition  to  such  services  of  a  "voluntary" 
character,  they  propose  to  avail  themselves  of  what  would 
otherwise  be  the  cold  and  benumbing  influence  of  the  long 
season  of  fasting  in  "  Lent."  But  what  is  the  relation  of  the 
Prayer-book  to  such  efforts  ?  What  aid  could  be  derived  from 
that  book  in  a  work  of  grace  ?  What  would  be  the  effect 
of  the  sole  use  of  that  book  in  endeavouring  to  promote  a 
revival  of  religion,  or  in  conducting  it  ?  There  is  nothing  in 
that  book  that  is  adapted  to  promote  what  is  commonly  termed 
a  revival  of  religion ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  book  that  is 
fitted  to  the  thrilling  scenes  of  such  a  work.  There  are  no 
prayers  that  careless  sinners  may  be  awakened;  none  that 
inquirers  may  be  guided  to  Christ ;  none  that  would  express 
the  desires  of  a  church  in  behalf  of  those  who  are  asking 
what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  If  these  things  are  made 
the  object  of  petition  in  an  Episcopal  Church,  it  must  bo  by 
the  appointment  of  "  prayer-meetings" — assemblages  that  arc 
not  contemplated,  as  we  have  already  seen,  by  the  Episcopal 
constitution.  We  have  heard  it  said  that  a  Presbyterian  mi 
nister  once  went  into  an  inquiry-meeting,  and  commenced  the 
services  of  the  evening  by  this  question  :  "  Can  you  tell  me, 


360  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

how  dotli  Christ  execute  the  office  of  a  priest?"  The  Episco 
pal  Prayer-book  is  not  as  well  adapted  to  the  state  of  things 
in  a  revival  of  religion,  as  the  use  of  the  Assembly's  Shorter 
Catechism  would  be  if  propounded  through  and  through  to 
those  composing  such  a  meeting.  There  is  not  a  feature  of 
the  book  that  is  adapted  to  such  a  work  of  grace.  Whether 
this  is  not  an  advantage  in  favour  of  the  book,  we  are  aware, 
is  a  point  on  which  many  Episcopalians  would  differ  mate 
rially  from  us.  We  say  only  that  if  there  are  to  be  revivals 
of  religion  in  the  church,  they  must  be  conducted  in  some 
other  way  than  by  the  use  of  the  Prayer-book. 

3.  The  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  religion  among  the 
young  as  a  distinct  class,  is  a  thing  unknown  to  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  all  attempts  to  promote 
Sabbath-schools,  whether  in  the  bosom  of  the  church  as  a  sec 
tarian  matter,  or  on  a  more  general  scale  in  union  with  other 
denominations,  is  a  departure  from  the  teachings  and  the  de 
signs  of  the  liturgy.  The  Sabbath-school  is  an  institution 
which  has  grown  up  some  two  hundred  years  since  the  Prayer- 
book  was  arranged  for  the  use  of  the  Anglican  church,  and  it 
has  never  been  modified  in  the  least  degree  to  adapt  it  to  the 
grand  enterprise  of  teaching  the  Bible  to  the  young,  though 
more  than  fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  God  began  to  set  the 
undoubted  seal  of  his  blessing  to  the  efforts  of  Robert  Raikcs. 
The  Prayer-book,  even  as  we  now  have  it,  is  the  "  petrified 
wisdom  of  the  age  of  Elizabeth,"  and  it  does  not  adapt  itself 
even  to  the  undoubted  Christian  institutions  of  an  advance:! 
period  of  the  world.  The  only  arrangements  in  the  Prayer- 
book  which  contemplate  the  instruction  of  the  young  at  all, 
are  found  in  the  catechism.  The  amount  of  instruction  con 
templated  there  is,  the  Lord's  prayer,  the  creed,  the  tea 
commandments,  a  careful  initiation  into  the  mystery  of  baptis 
mal  regeneration,  and  the  expression  of  a  settled  belief  on  the 
part  of  the  child,  that  by  baptism  he  was  made  "a  member 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    361 

of  Christ,  the  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven/'  This  great  defect  of  the  Episcopal  Church — 
this  fact  that  there  is  an  utter  forgetfulness  in  her  forms  of 
the  young,  and  an  utter  want  of  adaptedness  in  her  insti 
tutions  to  them,  is  thus  candidly  admitted  by  Archbishop 
Whately.  He  observes  that  the  liturgy  "  is  evidently  neither 
adapted  nor  designed  for  children,  even  those  of  such  an  age 
as  to  be  fully  capable  of  joining  in  congregational  worship,  were 
there  a  service  suitably  composed  on  purpose  for  them.  To 
frame  and  introduce  such  a  service  would  not,  I  think,  be 
regarded  as  a  trifling  improvement,  if  we  could  but  thoroughly 
get  rid  of  the  principle  of  the  Kornish  lip-service." — Essays 
on  Romanism,  ch.  i.  5.  This  is  a  candid  confession;  but  we 
do  not  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  the  Episcopal  Church,  so 
long  as  her  forms  are  used,  to  "  get  rid  of  the  Ilomish  princi 
ple  of  lip-service." 

4.  Prayer-meetings  are  not  contemplated  by  the  Episcopal 
service.     There  is  no  arrangement  in  the  Prayer-book  for  such 
meetings,  nor  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  examine,  is  it 
once   intimated  that  they  would  be  desirable  or  proper.     If 
they  are  ever  held,  they  are  a  departure  from  the  system,  or 
an  attempt  to  engraft  on  the  system  that  which  is  no  part 
of  Episcopacy.     Nothing  would  be  more  unfitted  for  what  is 
ordinarily  designed  by  a  prayer-meeting,  than  the  use  of  the 
forms  of  the  Episcopal  Church.     We  believe  that  those  mi 
nisters  of  that  persuasion  who  patronize  such  meetings,  never 
think  of  using  the  liturgy  on  such  occasions,  unless  it  may  be 
to  save  appearances ;  and  we  are  certain  that  the  high-church 
party  are  consistent  and  episcopally  right  in  their  opposition 
to  such  assemblages. 

5.  All  union  on  religious  subjects  with  other  denomina 
tions,  we  regard  as  in  like  manner  at  variance  with  the  spirit 
of  Episcopacy.     There  is  in  the  Prayer-book  no  recognition 
of  any  other  churches  as  such  •  of  any  other  ministers  than 

VOL.  I  31 


862  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

those  who  are  episcopally  ordained  '}  or  of  any  other  organiza 
tion  for  the  promotion  of  religious  objects  except  "the  church/' 
with  her  "  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons."  In  the  Prayer- 
book,  we  find  no  admission  even  that  others  are  or  can  be 
Christians.  We  think  there  is  but  one  allusion  in  the  forms 
of  prayer  to  any  Christians  others  than  those  of  the  Episcopal 
sect,  and  that  occurs  in  these  words  :  "  We  pray  for  thy  holy 
church  universal,  that  it  may  be  guided  and  governed  by  thy 
good  Spirit ;  that  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Chris 
tians  may  be  led  in  the  way  of  truth,  and  hold  the  faith  in 
unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness  of 
life."  There  is  no  prayer  offered  for  ministers  of  other  deno 
minations — no  allusion  whatever  to  them.  The  prayers  for 
ministers  of  the  gospel  are  always  in  the  forms  following : 
"  Send  down  upon  our  bishops  and  other  clergy,  and  upon  the 
congregations  committed  to  their  charge,  the  healthful  spirit 
of  thy  grace."  "  Make,  we  beseech  thee,  all  bishops  and 
pastors  diligently  to  preach  thy  holy  word,  and  the  people 
obediently  to  follow  the  same."  The  recognition  of  another 
church  than  the  Episcopal,  or  of  other  ministers  of  the  gospel 
than  the  Episcopal,  is  a  thing  unknown  to  the  Prayer-book. 
It  contemplates  no  union  with  others;  alludes  to  no  common 
action  with  them;  and  evidently  supposes  that  the  great  inte 
rests  of  religion  in  the  world  will  not  be  carried  forward  by 
voluntary  associations,  or  by  union  with  others,  but  by  the 
organization  under  the  "  three  orders."  We  have  felt  grateful 
for  the  aid  which  some  eloquent  and  zealous  Episcopalians 
have  rendered  in  the  distribution  of  the  Bible,  and  of  Tracts, 
and  in  the  support  of  the  Sunday-school  cause  in  connection 
with  others ;  but  we  have  never  had  but  one  feeling  in  regard 
to  the  consistency  of  this  with  Episcopacy.  We  have  re 
garded  it  as  a  departure  from  the  constitution  of  their  church ; 
and  whatever  independent  zeal  a  few  may  show  for  a  time  in 
these  catholic  movements,  we  anticipate  that  the  time  is  not 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IX  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    8bo 

fur  distant  when  the  voice  of  an  Episcopalian  will  no  longer 
be  heard  at  the  anniversaries  of  our  national  institutions,  and 
that  the  only  aid  which  Episcopacy  will  render  to  the  cause 
of  diffusing  Christianity,  will  be  under  her  own  distinctive 
organization.  There  is  now  far  less  disposition  to  unite  with 
others,  than  there  was  a  dozen  years  ago  • — successive  years 
will  show  it  to  be  less  and  less. 

Our  next  thought  in  regard  to  the  efforts  of  low  church 
men,  is,  that  as  far  as  we  understand  the  subject,  those  efforts 
arc  all  at  variance  with  the  doctrinal  views  of  the  church. 
We  allude  now  to  the  opposition  to  Puseyism,  or  the  Oxford 
theology.  We  speak  here  on  the  presumption  that  those  who 
are  low  churchmen  will  be  in  the  main  opposed  to  that  system 
of  belief.  On  that  controversy  we  have  looked  from  the 
commencement  with  great  interest,  not  with  reference  to  the 
question  whether  Puseyism  is  in  accordance  with  the  Bible — 
for  in  regard  to  that  we  see  not  how  a  question  can  be  raised — 
but  with  reference  to  the  question  whether  it  is  not  the  true 
spirit  of  Episcopacy,  and  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  views 
prevailing  at  the  time  when  the  Prayer-book  was  arranged, 
and  those  expressed  by  the  standard  writers  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  We  do  not  propose  now  to  go  into  an  examination 
of  these  questions,  but  it  may  be  of  some  interest  to  those 
who  are  in  the  Episcopal  Church  to  know  how  these  things 
appear  to  those  who  arc  without.  We  regard,  then,  the 
Puseyites  as  entirely  in  the  right  in  this  controversy  so  far 
as  Episcopacy  is  concerned ;  wholly  wrong  so  far  as  it  relates 
to  the  Bible.  We  think  that  those  who  are  opposed  to  the 
Oxford  theology,  are  engaged  in  the  most  hopeless  of  all 
controversies  ever  waged,  so  long  as  they  make  their  appeal 
to  their  own  Prayer-book,  or  the  early  standard  writers  of  the 
Episcopal  denomination.  We  have  no  doubt  that,  if  the 
views  of  Dr.  Pusey  and  Mr.  Newman  were  to  prevail  in  the 
Episcopal  Church,  the  church  would  be  substantially  in  the 


364  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

same  position  in  which  it  was  in  the  days  of  Elizabeth.  It 
was  but  half  reformed.  It  retained  then  a  large  part  of  the 
offensive  features  of  Romanism,  and  those  views  were  embo 
died  in  the  Prayer-book.  The  doctrine  of  baptismal  regene 
ration  ,  of  the  opus  operation  of  the  sacraments,  of  the  real 
presence  of  the  intermediate  state ; — the  veneration  of  saints, 
the  appointment  of  festival  days  in  commemoration  of  their 
virtues,  the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  worship,  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  bowing  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  the  holiness  of  the  church 
and  the  altar,  and  the  sacredness  of  the  consecrated  burying- 
place,  all,  with  numerous  similar  things,  are  part  and  parcel 
of  Romanism,  and  not  of  the  religion  of  the  New  Testa 
ment.  To  bring  back  the  Episcopal  Church  to  the  views  en 
tertained  on  these  subjects  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  which  wo 
understand  to  be  the  declared  aim  of  Dr.  Pusey,  would  be  to 
establish  the  sentiments  advanced  in  the  Tractarian  theology. 
The  views  of  Dr.  Pusey  in  his  celebrated  sermon  on  the 
.eucharist,  which  was  the  occasion  of  his  suspension,  we  think 
are  abundantly  sustained  by  the  quotations  which  he  has  made 
from  the  standard  writers  of  the  Episcopal  Church;  and, 
unless  our  evangelical  brethren  in  that  church  will  change 
their  mode  of  argument,  and  appeal  solely  to  the  Bible,  we 
are  morally  certain  that  they  are  destined  to  defeat.  The 
Prayer-book  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Episcopal  Church  will 
sustain  their  adversaries.  An  honest  appeal  to  the  Bible, 
however,  in  the  case,  would  be  fatal  to  Episcopacy,  and  if 
persevered  in,  must  rend  the  Episcopal  Church  in  twain. 

There  is  but  one  other  thought  which  we  propose  to  submit 
in  reference  to  the  present  position  of  the  evangelical  party  in 
the  Episcopal  Church.  It  relates  to  their  own  consistency  in 
their  efforts  to  mingle  with  Christians  and  Christian  ministers 
of  other  denominations.  We  have  already  intimated  that  the 
principles  on  which  this  is  done  are  well  defined  and  under 
stood.  They  never  associate  with  the  ministers  of  other 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    365 

denominations  as  Christian  ministers.  They  never  invite 
them  to  preach  for  them,  but  uniformly  say  when  the  ques 
tion  comes  before  them,  that  they  cannot  reciprocate  an  act  of 
ministerial  courtesy  of  this  kind.  They  never  recognise  the 
right  of  non-Episcopal  ministers  to  administer  the  sacraments 
of  the  church.  They  never  recognise  their  ordination  as  an 
ordination  to  the  Christian  ministry ;  and  never  suppose  that  a 
minister  from  another  denomination,  except  tlic  Papal,  can 
be  suffered  to  officiate  in  an  Episcopal  Church  without  re 
nouncing  his  former  ordination,  and  perchance  his  baptism 
too,  and  submit  to  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  prelate. 
These  and  kindred  acts  on  their  part,  force  us  almost  inevi 
tably  to  the  conclusion  that,  in  common  with  their  high- 
church  brethren,  they  regard  the  Episcopal  as  the  only 
Christian  church,  and  consider  all  others,  ministers  and  people, 
as  left  to  the  u  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God." 

Yet  there  is  much  that  we  cannot  reconcile  with  this. 
There  is  a  zeal  for  the  truth,  which  looks  as  if  they  regarded 
the  vital  doctrines  of  Christianity  as  of  more  importance  than 
its  forms.  There  is  an  honest  effort  to  promote  the  great 
objects  contemplated  by  the  gospel,  which  seems  to  rise  above 
the  narrow  confinement  of  sectarian  efforts.  There  is,  in  some 
things,  such  a  hearty  mingling  with  other  Christians,  and 
such  a  zeal  in  promoting  the  common  objects  of  our  religion, 
as  to  lead  us  for  a  time  to  forget  the  Episcopacy,  and  to 
rejoice  in  them  as  coworkers  with  all  others,  in  the  glorious 
efforts  to  spread  the  gospel.  There  is  such  impatience  of  re 
straint,  and  such  a  declared  purpose  not  to  be  fettered  by 
forms,  and  not  to  be  limited  to  the  narrow  views  of  a  "sect," 
that  we  begin  to  ask  with  concern,  whether,  in  our  apprehen 
sions  of  their  attachment  to  Episcopacy,  we  have  not  done 
them  essential  injustice.  There  arc  occasionally  such  solemn 
declarations  made  in  such  public  places,  that  they  "«•/'// not 
be  confined  within  the  narrow  walls  of  a  sect,  nor  be  prevented 


866  ESSAYS    AND    REVIEWS. 

from  looking  out  on  the  broad  Christian  world,  and  sympa 
thizing  with  other  Christians/'  that  we  are  constrained  to  ask, 
whether  we  have  rightly  understood  the  true  interpretation 
of  the  other  positions  which  they  have  taken,  or  whether — 
a  conclusion  which  we  will  avoid  if  possible — all  this  is 
said  for  the  purpose  of  effect,  and  is  designed  ultimately 
more  and  more  to  give  Episcopacy  favour  in  the  sight  of  the 
community. 

Now  so  antagonist  and  irreconcilable  are  these  positions 
of  the  evangelical  party  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  that  we 
should  be  glad  to  propound  to  some  of  the  leaders  of  that 
party  a  few  questions,  and  we  take  the  liberty  of  submitting 
them  here,  with  the  hope  that,  through  their  papers,  they 
will  furnish  to  the  community  an  answer. 

The  first  would  b^  this  :  Do  the  evangelical  party  regard 
the  ministers  of  other  denominations  as  in  any  sense  author 
ized  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  their  churches  as  true 
churches  ?  If  they  do — (which  we  do  not  believe  to  be  the 
case) — then  we  ask  of  them,  why  they  are  never,  in  any 
proper  way,  so  recognised  ?  Why  do  they  not  conic  out  and 
openly  say  so?  Why  do  they  never  admit  them  to  their 
pulpits?  Why  do  they  never  protest  against  their  being 
reordained  when  one  of  their  number  leaves  the  church  of 
his  fathers,  and  enters  the  service  of  the  Episcopal  denomina 
tion  ?  Why  do  they  submit  to  the  gross  public  indignity 
offered  to  the  Protestant  churches  by  the  uniform  acts  of  the 
Episcopal  Church — admitting  a  Catholic  priest  at  once  to 
officiate  at  her  altars  without  reordination ;  demanding  that 
every  other  minister  shall  be  ordained  ? 

If  in  reply  to  these  questions  they  should  say,  that  the?/ 
regard  the  ministers  of  other  denominations  as  having  a  right 
to  preach  and  administer  the  sacraments,  and  consider  the 
ordinances  administered  by  them  as  valid,  but  that  the 
"  canons"  of  their  church  will  not  allow  them  to  express  this 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    367 

belief  by  any  public  act,  or  to  reciprocate  any  act  of  minis 
terial  fellowship,  then  we  would  ask  of  them  as  independent 
Christian  men,  how  they  can  suffer  their  consciences  and 
their  hearts  to  be  fettered  and  trammelled  by  such  canons  ? 
How  can  they  consent  to  remain  in  a  position  where  they 
cannot  express  in  any  proper  way  the  honest  convictions 
of  their  minds,  and  act  as  freemen  ?  How  can  they  peace 
fully  minister  in  a  communion  where  the  very  nature  of 
the  institutions  is  a  well-understood  exclusion  of  all  other 
churches  as  having  no  valid  ministry  and  no  valid  sacra 
ments  ?  How  can  they,  by  their  conduct,  hold  up  all  other 
churches  as  left  to  the  "  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God?" 
The  Episcopal  sect,  as  such,  is  a  small  part  of  the  Christian 
world.  In  this  land,  it  is,  and  it  will  continue  to  be,  among 
the  "smallest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel."  Its  communicants  are 
few  in  comparison  with  those  of  other  denominations.  Its 
ministers  are  also  comparatively  few,  and,  in  point  of  talent, 
learning,  piety,  and  moral  worth,  are  not  eminent  above  all 
others.  If  it  be  so  that  other  churches  are  true  churches, 
and  other  ministers  arc  true  ministers,  then  they  have  the 
common  rights  of  all  Christians,  to  be  recognised  as  such  by 
all  their  Christian  brethren.  That  is  no  desirable  position  for 
a  man  to  place  himself  in,  who  believes  that  these  are  true 
churches,  but  who  is  habitually  constrained  to  speak  and  act 
as  if  they  were  not,  and  so  to  act  as  to  leave  the  impression 
that  he  regards  them  as  on  the  same  platform  in  regard  to 
salvation,  as  the  Jew,  the  Turk,  and  the  infidel.  And  yet 
this  is  the  fair  interpretation  of  the  conduct  of  the  Episco 
palian.  This  denomination — almost  the  smallest  in  our  coun 
try—habitually  acts,  as  if  the  great  body  of  Methodists, 
Baptists,  Presbyterians,  and  Congregationalists,  had  no  claim 
to  the  character  of  a  church,  and  were  to  be  treated  as  those 
on  whom  the  light  of  Christianity  has  never  risen.  The  most 
eminent  ministers  of  the  land,  living  and  dead,  are  to  be 


368  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

regarded  as  preaching  without  authority,  and  as  intruders  in 
the  sacred  office.  Of  the  departed,  Eliot,  and  Edwards,  and 
Bellamy,  and  Dwight,  are  never  to  be  spoken  of  as  true 
ministers  of  the  gospel;  of  the  living,  that  honoured  appella 
tion  should  not  be  given  to  Beecher,  Alexander,  Woods, 
Stuart,  or  Nott.  Hall,  in  our  father-land,  was  no  true  minis 
ter;  Wesley  was  one  only  because  he  had  been  touched  by 
episcopal  hands ;  Summerfield  had  neither  there  nor  here  a 
right  to  preach ;  and  nine-tenAs  of  the  effective  ministry  of 
our  country  are  to  be  regarded  in  no  other  light  than  intru 
ders  and  impostors.  Now  do  the  evangelical  party  in  the 
Episcopal  Church  believe  this  ?  If  they  do  not,  we  call  upon 
them  by  every  sentiment  of  honour  and  religion,  to  say  so. 
If  they  cannot  do  this  and  remain  in  the  bosom  of  Episcopacy, 
then  we  call  upon  them  to  act  the  man  and  the  Christian,  and 
to  seek  a  connection  where  they  can  say  this,  and  can  act  out 
the  honest  conviction  of  their  souls.  We  do  not  understand 
the  constitution  of  that  man  who  can  quietly  remain  in  a  con 
nection  where,  by  a  fair  interpretation,  his  conduct  will  do  an 
enormous  wrong  habitually  to  the  great  mass  of  his  Christian 
brethren,  and  where  this  interpretation  of  his  conduct  will 
express  a  constant  falsehood  in  regard  to  his  own  opinions. 

But  if  the  evangelical  Episcopalian  should  say  that  he  does 
not  regard  the  ministers  of  other  denominations  as  having  a 
right  to  preach  and  to  administer  the  sacraments,  then  we 
have  another  question  to  propose.  Why  is  not  this  honestly 
avowed  ?  Why  is  there  not  on  his  part  always  a  course  of 
conduct  entirely  consistent  with  this?  Why  is  there  ever 
any  such  mingling  with  other  denominations,  as  to  leave  any 
doubt  in  regard  to  this  matter  ?  His  high-church  brethren 
never  act  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  room  for  an  ambiguous 
interpretation  of  their  views,  and  we  honour  them  for  their 
consistency.  We  know  where  to  find  them.  It  is  always  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  they  never  so  far  forget  themselves 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    369 

as  to  convey  the  impression  that  they  have  ever  heard  that 
there  is  any  other  church.  If  the  low  churchman  holds  the 
same  views  in  regard  to  the  church  and  the  ministry,  then 
what  means  all  the  declamation  which  we  hear  about  his  own 
catholic  and  liberal  views,  and  his  determination  not  to  be 
fettered  and  manacled? 

We  take  our  stand  here.  If  the  evangelical  Episcopalian 
regards  other  churches  as  true  churches,  and  other  ministers 
;is  true  ministers,  we  have  a  right  to  know  it.  If  he  does  not, 
then  the  community  has  a  right  to  know  what  Episcopacy  is. 
If  it  is  essentially  narrow  and  exclusive;  if  it  recognises  no 
other  communion  as  a  true  church,  and  regards  all  others  as 
left  to  the  uncovenaiited  mercies  of  God,  then  it  is  a  riylit 
which  the  community  has,  to  understand  this.  Episcopalians 
nre  everywhere  endeavouring  to  win  the  young  from  the 
churches  of  their  fathers.  Let  us  understand  fully  what  the 
system  is,  and  let  not  the  youth  of  the  land,  won  by  great  pro 
fessions  of  catholicity  and  zeal  for  the  common  cause,  be  drawn 
blindfold  into  a  communion  that  is  essentially  exclusive  of  all 
others,  and  where  the  first  act  of  faith  must  be  the  expression 
of  a  belief  that  a  father  and  mother  worship  in  a  conventicle, 
and  are  baptized  and  buried  by  laymen. 

We  have  spoken  freely,  but  not  in  anger.  It  is  not  because 
we  believe  that  those  brethren  who  are  endeavouring  to  infuse 
the  evangelical  principle  into  the  Episcopal  Church,  are  not 
good  men,  that  we  have  made  these  remarks.  We  regard  it  as 
an  honour  that  we  are  permitted  to  number  some  among  them  as 
our  personal  friends,  and  there  are  many  among  them  at  whose 
feet  we  regard  it  as  a  privilege  to  sit  down.  Among  the  living 
of  this  class,  we  doubt  not  there  are  some  as  holy  men  as  the 
church  embosoms,  and  among  the  dead,  there  are  those  whose 
memory  will  be  cherished  as  long  as  piety,  eloquence,  and  moral 
worth  are  honoured  on  earth.  The  name  of  Bedell  will  not  be, 
and  should  not  be,  forgotten.  The  land  has  known  few  men 


370  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

who  have  done  more  honour  to  tho  ministry  than  ho  did.  His 
silvery  tones,  his  placid  manner,  his  clear  enunciation,  his  un 
shrinking  fidelity,  his  indefatigable  toils,  his  meek,  pure,  unob 
trusive  Christian  spirit,  his  large-hearted  liberality  toward  all 
who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  cannot  be  forgotten  by  the 
multitudes  who  hung  on  his  lips,  as  a  preacher,  and  who  loved 
him  as  a  man. 

But  we  regard  these  brethren  as  labouring  in  an  impractica 
ble  work,  and  in  a  work  which  it  would  not  be  desirable  to  ac 
complish  if  it  could  be  done — an  attempt  to  blend  the  spirit  of 
the  gospel  with  the  religion  of  forms.  The  experiment  has  now 
been  fairly  made.  It  cannot  be  hoped  that  it  will  be  made  un 
der  better  auspices,  and  we  regard  it  as  destined  to  inevitable 
failure.  As  we  love  pure,  evangelical  religion,  therefore,  we 
think  it  right  to  state  what  we  think  must  be  the  result  of  the 
experiment,  and  to  set  before  the  churches  the  principles  which 
are  involved  in  the  controversy. 

We  think,  also,  that  there  has  been  an  error  in  other  deno 
minations  of  Christians  in  this  matter.  There  has  been  a  feel 
ing,  the  correctness  of  which  no  one  seemed  to  regard  it  as 
proper  to  doubt,  that  the  Episcopal  sect  was  to  be  numbered 
in  the  family  of  evangelical  churches,  and  that  other  churches 
should  lend  their  influence  to  infuse  the  evangelical  spirit  more 
and  more  into  that  communion.  Under  the  influence  of  that 
desire,  pious  and  devoted  young  men  have  been  advised  to  throw 
themselves  into  that  communion,  with  the  hope  that  they  might 
do  more  to  promote  the  great  cause  by  attempting  to  diffuse  tho 
spirit  of  Christ  through  the  religion  of  forms,  than  by  minis 
tering  in  connection  with  the  church  of  their  fathers.  This, 
we  now  think,  was  unwise  counsel.  It  was  both  unkind  to 
Episcopacy,  and  it  was  morally  certain  that  it  would  be  a  failure. 
It  was  as  unkind  as  if  the  Methodist  Church,  pressed  with  great 
concern  for  the  Presbyterian  denomination,  should  scatter  its 
ardent  sons  through  all  the  presbyteries  of  the  land,  avowedly 


EVANGELICAL  PARTY  IN  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.    371 

for  the  purpose  of  changing  its  policy,  and  dift using  the  tactics 
of  Wesley  through  the  Presbyterian  ranks.  And  it  was  an  ex 
periment  which,  from  the  nature  of  the  case  must  fail.  There 
is  a  way  of  effectually  neutralizing  all  such  influence  that  comes 
in  from  other  denominations.  Episcopacy  has  the  means  of  in 
fusing  its  own  principles,  with  singular  vigour,  into  the  heart 
of  a  neophyte  from  another  church.  Let  the  mitre  once  touch 
the  head  of  a  low  churchman,  and  a  new  light  shines  on  his  mind 
in  regard  to  the  apostolic  succession,  and  on  all  the  pomp  and 
paraphernalia  of  Prelacy;  and  as  a  New-England  man  becomes 
the  most  cruel  of  all  slave-drivers,  if  he  can  be  made  so  far  to 
forget  himself  as  to  become  as  a  slave-driver  at  all;  so  a  man 
from  an  evangelical  denomination  becomes  the  most  furious  for 
Prelacy,  if  he  can  be  made  so  far  to  forget  himself  as  to  become 
a  prelate  at  all.  We  think  it  time  for  the  evangelical  young 
men  of  our  country  to  understand,  that  if  they  wish  to  advance 
the  cause  of  the  gospel,  it  is  not  to  be  in  connection  with  the 
religion  of  forms.  The  gospel  of  Christ  has  elements  of  moral 
power  in  itself  which  are  only  hindered  by  gorgeous  external 
ritcs — as  the  keenness  of  a  Damascus  blade  is  rendered  useless 
if  buried  within  a  gorgeous  scabbard. 

We  regard  the  prevailing  spirit  of  Episcopacy,  in  all  aspects, 
high  and  low,  as  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  of 
this  land.  This  is  an  age  of  freedom,  and  men  will  be  free 
The  religion  of  forms  is  the  stereotyped  wisdom  or  folly  of  the 
past,  and  does  not  adapt  itself  to  the  free  movements,  the  en 
larged  views,  the  varying  plans  of  this  age.  The  spirit  of  this 
age  demands  that  there  shall  be  freedom  in  religion  •  that 
it  shall  not  be  fettered  or  suppressed ;  that  it  shall  go  forth 
to  the  conquest  of  the  world.  It  is  opposed  to  all  bigotry  and 
uncharitableness ;  to  all  attempts  to  "unchurch"  others;  to 
teaching  that  they  worship  in  conventicles,  that  they  are  dis 
senters,  or  that  they  are  left  to  the  uncovenanted  mercies  of 
God.  All  such  language  did  better  in  the  days  of  Laud  and 


372  ESSAYS   AND    REVIEWS. 

Bonner,  than  now.  It  might  be  appropriate  iu  lands  where 
religion  is  united  to  the  state — 

"  Like  beauty  to  old  age 
For  interest's  sake,  the  living  to  the  dead," — 

but  it  does  not  suit  our  times  or  country.  It  makes  a  jar  on 
American  feelings.  It  will  not  be  tolerated  by  this  commu 
nity.  The  spirit  of  this  land  is,  that  the  church  of  Christ  is 
not  under  the  Episcopal  form,  or  the  Baptist,  the  Methodist, 
the  Presbyterian,  or  the  Congregational  form  exclusively ;  all 
are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  to  be  recognised  as  parts  of  the 
one  holy  catholic  church,  with  no  distinction  of  prerogative, 
with  no  right  to  the  assumption  of  exclusive  names,  with  no 
self-complacent  expression  of  feeling  that  their  form  brings 
them  nearer  to  heaven  than  others.  There  is  a  spirit  in  this 
land  which  requires  that  the  gospel  shall  depend  for  its  success 
not  on  solemn  processions  and  imposing  rites ;  not  on  the  idea 
of  superior  sanctity  in  the  priesthood  in  virtue  of  their  office ; 
not  on  genuflections  and  ablutions  ;  not  on  any  virtue  conveyed 
by  the  imposition  of  holy  hands,  and  not  on  union  with  any 
particular  church,  but  on  solemn  appeals  to  the  reason,  the 
conscience,  the  immortal  hopes  and  fears  of  men,  attended  by 
the  holy  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God  : — a  spirit  which  de 
mands  that  the  devotion  which  from  age  to  age  is  to  be  breathed 
forth  on  our  hills  and  along  our  valleys,  should  be  that  pure  de 
votion  which  proceeds  from  the  heart,  worshipping  God  in  spirit 
and  in  truth. 


END  or  VOL.  i. 


STEREOTYPED  BY  L.  JOHNSON  &  CO. 
PHILADELPHIA, 


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